Bad News

It has been 7 weeks since one of the worst days of my life happened. I woke up sick on Oct. 9 so I stayed home from school. I watched T.V and went to the store with my mom. When the kids got home from school the bad news happened. The new neighbors came over and asked if by brothers wanted to play football on our front yard. I told them they they had to get their homework done and then they would come out.
Fifteen minutes later the boys got impatient so they came to the door again to ask if the boys would be coming out soon. Aiden opened the door and Coal leaped out and bit the little boy that stood outside. My mom ran outside to see if the little boy was okay. He was bleeding and really scared so my mom brought him to his mom.
She came into the house and said that we had to get rid of Coal. This time I knew that it was really going to happen. One of the best things that had ever happened to me and one of my best friends would be gone. I knew that I couldn't do it.
The next day right before school I took a treat and had Coal do all of the tricks that I had taught him, crying harder then I ever had before. Then I gave him a big hug a told him that I would never forget him and that I would always love him. Then I got in the car to go to school. I knew that I would never see him. My mom took him to the shelter that day while I was at school.
I have carried his tag everywhere I've gone since then. I have the feeling of his name on the tag memorized from rubbing my finger against it so many times. Now that's it's been over 6 weeks I know that there is no way that I can get him back. But I will always remember him and love him.
                                                                                                        (: Paige :)

Chapter Four

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Chapter Four

Eliza

It’s raining. I looked up at the calendar that hangs above my bed. The date is circled, June 22. Today we leave for the journey. I roll over in my bed to see Cricket scratch at the window. I walk into my closet and change into some jeans and a blue t-shirt.

“Crick, you want out?” I ask her. She meows and scratches the window again. I stand up and look down at my feet, then look up at the window again. I open it up so that Cricket can jump out. I sigh and sit down on the bed to watch the rain patter on the window. I hear the soft sound of feet shuffling on the carpet and the doorbell ringing.

I stand up and open the door. “Oh, hi James. How are you today?” I hear my mom say once she opens the door. I hear James reply casually. “I’m fine, how are you? I’m going to need Eliza.”

I walk into the hall and look at the door where James stands in a navy blue t-shirt and dark jeans. He turns his head at an angle so that he can see me. He waves as I walk down the hall toward the door.

“Mom, you know that it’s the day that we have to go. We have to do lots of things before we go,” I say, getting my boots on and grab the duffel bag that I had left at the door last night. Mom nods and pushes me out the door, “I’ll see you at the leaving ceremony,” I smile as she closes the door.

“I wonder how long this will take,” I say watching my feet as I walk, right, left, right, left. James shrugs and puts his hands in his pocket. “I guess that the kids that are going to school today get an early out to come and see us leave. I sure am scared,” James says looking at the sky where rain is falling from the clouds.

“So, we have to pick up the horses first, right?” I ask James who nods and pulls out a hoodie, which he pulls over his head. The hoodie is red with black stripes. I slap my forehead as I remember that my coat and jacket are in the other bag that I left for Victoria to take care of until we leave.

I see the stable up ahead through the rain. The stable is a wooden structure that my great, great grandfather built for his horses, which almost seemed to be people, as my father’s father had said. “There was a black one and a grey one that was almost all spotted,” my grandpa had said.

“Hey, James, Eliza! I have your horses ready!” Kaylee, the stable manager, my cousin, shouts through the wind and rain. “Good! We’re really going to need them!” I shout back beginning to run.

Ten minutes later we are under in the shelter of my aunt and uncle’s house drinking hot chocolate and eating hot pancakes. “You guys are too nice!” I say taking the last bite of my second pancake. The hot chocolate had tasted like a melted chocolate bar. “Don’t say that, we know how hard it’s going to be,” my aunt, Natalie says setting her mug of eggnog down on the table.

“This isn’t going to be the best day to be on the water,” James says after he gulps down the last of his hot chocolate, “With the rain and all.” I nod and stand up. “I think we better get the horses and be on our way, we have a lot to do today,” I say, picking up my plate to put in the sink. James wipes his mouth and nods.

“I’ll go and get the saddles for the horses, they are groomed and ready to go other than that,” Kaylee says opening the door to go out into the rain, which has slowed to a drizzle.

“Tell Victoria happy birthday for me!” Natalie says before James a closes the door behind us. “It is Victoria’s birthday, isn’t it? I totally forgot,” I rubbing my arms to keep the cold winds to cause goose bumps.

“Here is Scout, and here is Lightning,” Kaylee says stepping toward us while guiding a large black horse and a smaller paint. “Lightning is for Eliza and Scout is for James. Scout is very gentle but can fight very well if he has to and Lightning is strong and can hold almost all your supplies. He is the strongest of all our horses.”

I smile and grab the rope for guiding the gentle giant. “He’s beautiful, Kaylee, thank you, we will really need him,” I say guiding his to the entrance of the stables. “Bye!” Kaylee says, waving.

“What’s next?” James asks me as if I had everything planned out for the day. I shrug and keep walking. “Why did you get the stronger horse?” James whines. I shrug again and look up at the sky where the clouds are starting to clear and the sun is starting to shine through.

“I think that we better go and say goodbye to Vic,” I say changing directions toward the hospital. A few days ago we had figured out all our doubts. She had said that this was going to be a very stressful time and that she would need my help to get through it even if she didn’t think that I could do what I had to.

I agreed to help her and said that I would say a special goodbye to her since she wouldn’t be able to go to the ceremony. “I feel bad that she can’t come. Maybe the elder will let her go when we get to the ocean settlement,” I say tying Lightning to the metal pole that the builders had put in front of ever building after Kaylee and her family protested about a place to put their horses.

I shake out my hair and walk in the front door to the hospital. “We’re here to see Jane Halycoat,” I say to the man at the front desk. His eyes are brown and he has brown hair that is spiky in the front.

“Room 125,” the man replies pointing down the hall. I grab James’ arm and practically drag him to the room were Victoria and her family are staying. I knock on the door before entering just in case they don’t want us to come in.

The door slowly creaks open to reveal Victoria’s face; her hair is all knotty she is in an old t-shirt and sweats. “Happy Birthday!” I whisper, careful not to wake Hannah who is asleep on a chair in the corner of the room sleeping.

Victoria launches out of her chair and into a bear hug for me, the thud on the floor wakes Hannah who’s head flicks up. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she is wearing a t-shirt and sweats just like Victoria.

“I so sorry that we have to leave you! I will send you a letter everyday while I’m gone,” I promise once Victoria lets me go. “You don’t have to be sorry, the elder came here last night and told me that I would be able to go if my mom has her baby before you are done! The best thing about it is that the baby is due tomorrow or on Sunday!” Victoria says, her voice almost too enthusiastic.

“Yes!  Victoria I’m so happy for you! You should probably start packing just in case,” I say giving her a high five. James steps further into the room toward Mr. Halycoat.

“What do you think you will name him?” Victoria and I hear James ask Mr. Halycoat. Victoria giggles before her dad answers, “We have no idea, and we promised Victoria that she could name it because she couldn’t go with you, it’s one of her birthday presents.”

“So what are you going to name him?” I whisper to Victoria who begins to blush. “I decided that I am going to name him James. I think that it’s a good name,” she replies in a whisper quieter than mine.

I smile and imagine a little chubby boy smiling up at me. “Okay, because you guys can’t be at the ceremony for us to leave, James and I decided that we were going to do a special farewell.” I say looking over at James who mouths, one, two, and three.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Victoria and a farewell, too!” James and I sing. We made up the end of the song yesterday and decided to sing it not only for Victoria, but also for her whole family.

Victoria and her family clap their hands and cheer for us. “Thank you so much! I will really miss you and I promise that I will send you a letter everyday until I come to you,” Victoria says. I smile and give Victoria another hug. “I’ll miss you to Victoria,” I say releasing her, “Happy birthday.”

Ten minutes later we were back at my house with all our supplies ready except for my other bag of clothing, which holds some shirts and my coat and jacket. “It doesn’t look like anyone’s home,” I say looking through the windows at the darkened house. “Well of course Daisy and Mason aren’t here, they have school,” James says chewing on a granola bar from his pack. I shake my head and begin to open the door.

“The school district let them stay home and they probably let Zera and Zane stay home, too,” I say, taking my first step into the house. Suddenly the lights flick on and a bunch of people pop up, “Surprise!” they shout making me jump back against the closed door.

“You did this for us?” I ask amazed at how much my mom had done while I was gone. There were signs everywhere saying things like “We’ll miss you!” and “Hope you are safe!” Daisy runs over to me from behind the couch. “Liza! I love you!” she shouts. I see Zera and Zane standing back to watch as Daisy runs up to me. I see Zane laugh and look at the back of her pants.

 They were born on New Years Eve at 10:17. The family knows the exact time because right when they were born James and his aunt were in the waiting room and they took a picture of the two-year-old James by the clock in the waiting room.

Zera has black hair and always wears it loose. It falls down to her shoulders and is curly so whenever she ran her black curls bounced up and down. She has long eyelashes and dark eyes. Zane has light brown hair that is always spiked in the front.

My mom walks up to me with the camera in her hand. “Mom, I’m going to miss you so, so, so much! I’ll write to you everyday that I am gone!” I say giving her a hug.

“I’m so sorry that Dad couldn’t be here. He had to work, it was urgent,” Mom says after we pull apart. She holds me by the shoulders and looks me in the eyes to talk to me. “I know, Mom, you don’t have to be sorry,” I say.  My dad is a doctor at the hospital and he had to take care of some of the many patients. The sicknesses had really slowed down but there were still so many people to heal. Mom nods and pulls something out from Daisy’s jeans. In Mom’s hand is a little bit of toilet paper. Daisy starts to blush and runs off.

We walk into the kitchen where there is cake and crackers to eat with all the dips that she has set out on the counter. After we all eat, Mom cuts the cake into pieces and hands it out to the younger kids. I don’t feel like eating. I just ate two or three crackers with a chocolate chip cookie dip, now I’m not hungry and don’t feel like any more food.

Zera walks over to me and sits down. “I bet you’re nervous,” Zera says. Even though she is still 11, she is pretty seemed just like us; sometimes she seems like a six grader even though she is only has just ended 5^th grade. This is the total opposite her twin brother Zane, who seems like a second grader. He is crazy and all over the place all the time but sometimes, Zane and Zera were the perfect group and spent tons of time together. That is the only time that Zera is a little bit crazy. When they are together, they love practical jokes and play them on everyone. That was probably where the toilet paper came from.

“Yep, I think that that is the only feeling that I’ve had since last week. I’m nervous and I’m worried,” I say looking into Zera’s dark eyes. “I guess that James won’t be here for my birthday. It’s tomorrow, you know,” Zera replies, changing the subject and taking a small bite of the chocolate cake that my mom bought at the store.

I nod, starting to stare at the T.V that Mason and his friend Justin are playing video games on. James comes and sits down by Zera. “Is my little sister annoying you?” James asks, jokingly. Zera hits him in the arm playfully and we all laugh.

“I think that we should get the horses prepared to go. If you want to come with us, Zera, that’s fine,” James says standing up once more. Zera sets her fork on her paper plate, which she throws in the garbage. “Sure, I’ll come,” she says brushing the crumbs off her dark blue jeans.

We walk out of the kitchen and into the living room to the game console. Mason looks up and smiles at me before looking back at the screen where Justin’s character blows up and it say that Mason wins.

I pick up my bags and Zera, James, and I walk out the front door and onto the cement steps that lead up to our house. The air is moist and everything in the world seems wet. Our horses wait by the garage looking bored out of their minds.

“Which one’s yours?” Zera asks me, her hands in her back pockets. I walk faster and place my hand on Lightning’s neck. “This one,” I reply, sliding my hand down his neck and to the end of his body.

Zera nods and takes out a little notebook in which she begins to write something. “He looks really strong,” she says her eyes still on the notebook. I nod and say, “That is because he is the strongest horse that we have.” Zera nods and closes the notebook, shoving it into her back pocket.

“Okay, so how are we going to put our stuff in the these little things?” James asks, sticking his hand in his horse’s saddlebag. “I don’t think we can put all our stuff in there, just some of our food and some of our water. Kaylee said something about hooking things on,” I say, patting the side of Lightning’s neck.

Zera walks up to Scout and shows him some hooks that dangle on one of the sides of the saddle. I look at my saddle for the hooks and see that on Lightning, they are on both sides.

I pick up some of our bags and begin to clip some of the handles onto the saddle. “That’s perfect,” I say, standing back to admire my work. There are only two bags on the ground that is waiting for James to hook onto Scout’s saddle.

Zera pats Lightning on the neck before turning to the front to see his face. She pulls out her notebook again and begins to write. I try to look over her shoulder but when I do she snaps the book closed and looks up at me. Her dark eyes seem threatening for the first time for me.

I step back and walk over to James. When she sees that I am not able to see what she is doing she opens the book again and begins the write. Then I notice something, just because you are moving a pencil around on a paper doesn’t mean that you are writing, it could also mean that you are drawing.

I have only seen one drawing from Zera that is outdated from when she was probably three or four hanging up on the refrigerator. She closes her book and puts it back in her pocket.

“I think that we should go to the meeting place for the ceremony,” Zera says walking over to James and me. “I think that you are right but I think that I should tell my mom first,” I say handing Lightning’s guiding rope to Zera who nods calmly.

I jog up to my door, which I open to shout to my mom. “I’m going to the meeting place to get ready for the ceremony!” I shout, slamming the door closed after I’m done with the sentence.

“Let’s go!” James shouts from on top of his horse. I run to Lightning to jump on, offer Zera a hand up after getting on. Lightning and Scout gallop out of the driveway and down the street that is almost all the way covered with sand.

I look back at Zera who has her eyes closed and a calm smile rested on her lips. Eventually we reach the sand so the horses have to slow down. At the meeting place, about 10 people work on setting up chairs and tables. The plan is to have a light lunch and then James and I are going to get on the boat and leave.

I pull back Lightning’s reins as we near the clearing. He slows to a stop and James comes up ahead of be just a second later. Once the workers see us they start to whisper, and then they walk up to the start of the meeting clearing.

“You can’t work here, but you can come and see it,” a voice shouts from the clearing. I see some of the workers nod their heads. One of the workers starts to laugh making all the girl workers giggle and the boy’s chuckle.

I laugh too. The workers start to walk away to get back to work. Zera walks through the entrance. James walks through after Zera, leaving me to stand alone in front of the meeting place.

Finally I walk over to the boat that is sitting on the sand only a couple yards away. It is not a small boat but not a big boat. There is a little room in the bottom with two mats with blankets on the top, a small couch, and a small bookcase. Cozy I think good enough for one or two nights. Up on deck there is a sail, seats, and a small space to walk. There is also a cooler. For food? For fishermen and there fish? I step over to the steps that lead down to the room again. I close the door and step off the boat after touching the fading blue sail.

Zera is now standing on the sand by the boat.  Her hair is wet and she looks mad. “I came looking for you and I fell in the water. I tripped on that rock,” she says pointing to one of the rocks by the water. I see footprints leading up to it and them they stop.

I laugh at Zera who has a slight smile. “Mom’ll be so mad when she sees that I got my clothes wet,” she says. I laugh again looking her up and down. We walk down to the meeting place where James is setting up the last table. Lightning is sniffing at one of the worker’s hand and Scout is just standing on the sand with his eyes closed.

“I want pizza and Doritos and those little triangle sandwiches. Did you notice something? They’re all triangles!” Daisy says and hour after Zera fell into the water. Everyone is talking and eating the food that is set up on the tables.  I nod, half listening. I’m not hungry and tired. I wish that Victoria were here. She would cheer me up and we would be laughing and talking right now. I wouldn’t be in charge of Daisy.

“Eliza! I bet you’re so nervous,” I hear someone say from behind me. I turn around and see Tina, a 15-year-old girl. Her hand is on her hip, nails perfectly pink with no chips in the polish. The other hand holds a plate of food, salad, a tuna sandwich, and chips.

“Hi, Tina,” I say before looking at my chipped purple nail polish. Daisy grabs her plate of food and skips off to the table that my parents sit at talking to our neighbors.

“So, I saw you look at your nails. I could make them look like mine, any color you want after you come back, if you survive, that is,” Tina replies, taking her hand off her hip and letting me examine her nails. Suddenly I wish that Daisy had stayed with me just for an excuse to get away from Tina.

“What do you think? Would you like that? It would give you something to look forward to,” Tina says. I pray that James will suddenly walk up and tell me to come and do something but as far as I can see there is no James in site. I nod and look over Tina’s shoulder as Daisy trips sending a flurry of triangles up into the air. Yes, an excuse! I think running over to Daisy who begins to cry.

“Sorry Tina, I’m in charge of her, I’ve got to take care of this,” I say before I kneel down in front of Daisy who is crying loudly. Just below the bottom of her shorts she has skimmed her knee on a rock that is barely visible underneath the sand. Her plate is on the sand a few feet away from her and all her food is scattered on the chairs, tables, and the sand.

“My…my triangles!” cries Daisy making her crying even louder. I pick up her plate and the few pieces of food that landed on the chairs or tables. Her knee is bleeding, but not too bad. I pull a band-aid out of my pocket and put it over her knee. She stands up and grabs that plate that I have in my hands. “I’m going to go back for seconds if I finish this in time,” Daisy pouts, stomping back over to my parent’s table.

Tina walks over to me, I’m still sitting on the sand feeling like a doofus. “Kids,” Tina says, offering me her hand to pull me up. I decline and stand up myself. “So you want to do the nail thing? It should stay on for 3 weeks,” Tina says looking at my hands, which hang limply at my sides.

“Sure, that’d be nice,” I say, hoping to end the conversation soon. James walks over to me from the back. “The horses are ready, I think that they want us to get onto the boat,” James says throwing his plate away in the garbage sack that hangs on one of the poles holding up the drift wood above us.

I nod and wave to Tina who smiles back, flashing perfectly white teeth at me. “Thank you for saving me from her,” I say. James smiles but doesn’t reply. The horses are tied up on the boat.

“Is it time for you to go already?” I hear a voice say from behind me. I turn around to see Mrs. Akalea and her husband standing by me. I smile and practically dive into Mrs. Akalea’s outstretched arms. When Mrs. Akalea releases me from her tight hug I look up at her husband, Mr. Akalea. Mr. Akalea is a tall, tan man with a broad chin and handsome face. He was just like his wife, most likely to be seen in casual clothes. He worked at the Fish Burger Restaurant and was seen a lot with Mrs. Akalea at school.

“I’m going to miss you so much!” I say, jumping from one foot to the other. Mrs. Akalea smiles and laughs at my jumping. “Eliza, I know that you already know him, but this is my husband, Todd,” Mrs. Akalea says. I look at Mr. Akalea, Todd, again. He gives me a slight smile and I return it. “I think that you need to get over there, the elder is talking to James,” Mrs. Akalea says, using her thumb to point at the boat.

I wave goodbye to Mrs. Akalea and Mr. Akalea and jog over to the boat. “The mats in the bottom of the boat should be able to fold up and can be put on your horse to bring with you everywhere, that’s all I have to say, you should probably get going now,” the elder says. He waves and slowly scoots away with his walker. My parents are the first to come over to the boat.

“Honey, are you going to be okay?” my mom asks me. I nod my head and give her a hug. “We’ll keep some ice cream for you!” my dad says. I laugh and give him a hug. Daisy jumps up and down, waiting for her hug. I pick her up and spin her around until I get dizzy. She laughs and falls down on the sand when I set her down.

People begin gathering in front of the boat that hardly touches the blue water of the sea. James gives his family hugs and we both climb up the stairs that fold in and create part of the wall. We stand by the wall and begin to wave. The people begin to chant our names, I look down at Daisy who is holding out her arms wanting a hug but I can’t reach her.

A mist begins to cover the river of blue in her eyes as the boat starts to float away into the sea. I reach out my arms, knowing I won’t reach her but trying to anyway. The edge of the boat hits the water. I try to blink the tears from my eyes but they come before I can get rid of them. Daisy bursts out crying and lets her arms fall down at her sides. I keep my arms outstretched, reaching for my home, reaching for what I have known my whole life but it seems like I am just a little bit too far away to reach it, to far to touch the thing that I need to save.

Pretty please let me know if their is anything anything that I need to change!

Sea Quests: Desert Cures Chapter Three

I'm back and with the one and only chapter three. Sorry about how long the post was yesterday. I didn't notice that it was that long. I don't that this one will be long because chapter three is a particularly short chapter and it's only one chapter. Here you go.

Chapter Three

Eliza

I jump up and run to the kitchen, ready to go to school. My mom is in the kitchen making oatmeal. I look around the room for my siblings then I remember; it’s Saturday.

“You’re up early for a Saturday,” my mom says, smiling. “Are you going to come on my jog with me. It looks like you’re already dressed.”

I look down at my rumpled clothes and laugh. “Mom, these are the clothes that I wore yesterday. I guess I fell asleep before changing,” I say.

Mom nods and sits down with her bowl of oatmeal. “I understand what is happening. I know that you were stressed and that this will be hard for you,” my mom says, sprinkling brown sugar on her oatmeal.

I nod and sit down across the table from my mom. All my thoughts magically come floating back into my mind. “Mom, I don’t know how to get through the journey. How will I heal Harper? And if others get sick, how will I heal them?” I ask reducing to tears.

“Honey, you can do this. The desert people have a cure for all diseases and you must get that from them. You must get them to give it to you. You cannot steal it. It will depend on what is happening over in the desert. If people are sick there, too, it will be harder for you to get the cure,” my mom says. She stands up and grabs her sneakers.

“Do you want to come with me on my jog?” my mom asks tying her shoelaces. I nod and run to my room, quickly changing into yoga pants and an exercise shirt.  I grab my purple converse from under my bed and quickly slip them on my feet before running to the kitchen.

I tie my shoes and jog in place until my mom is done pulling her hair back in a ponytail. We run along the sand until we hear yelling from a house… Victoria’s house.

The door bursts open and Victoria runs out, tears running down her cheeks. “Eliza, you have to help me! Mom is getting the same thing that Harper has!” Victoria gasps. Her blond hair is glossy and combed even though it is only seven in the morning and it is a Saturday. Obviously she has been up for a while.

Mom runs up to Victoria and up into the house. “Dad is gone because he had a early morning meeting and so mom was the only one home with me and Hannah. Hannah’s freaking out and she almost fainted,” Victoria says between gasps. “ I don’t feel good myself.”

I give Victoria a hug and we run into the house. Mom is calling the hospital and Victoria’s mom is on the couch. Hannah is sitting on her knees by her mom. She looks up at me, her eyes pleading.

“Victoria, is she still conscious?” I ask. She nods and sits down by her mom. Mom hangs up the phone and comes over to give Victoria and Hannah a hug. “The ambulance is coming, Jane. You should be fine, no harm to your little boy,” my mom says pulling Hannah onto her feet. Victoria’s mom, Jane, nods while coughing. The door opens and James rushes in.

“My mom woke me up and told me to come over here. These are the things we need to keep track of, we need to know how many people get sick until Friday,” James says, his face red from running.

“James, we need to hurry and get down to the hospital and tell the nurse that other people are getting sick,” I say trying to think if the nurse told us her name. James nods. I look at my mom who nods as we begin to run out of the house.

“Did she tell us her name?” I ask James, failing to remember. James tugs at the bottom of his navy blue t-shirt that has a silhouette tree and some eagles on it.

“I don’t think she did, come on we need to hurry,” James replies speeding up and getting ahead of me. Suddenly I’m glad that I went on the jog with my mom. If I hadn’t, Victoria would never get the ambulance to her house and then we wouldn’t have been able to track this sickness down.

I speed up and we reach the door of the hospital, which is already opened because people are rushing in and out. We walk up to the desk that is tucked up in the left corner of the lobby by a potted plant. The first thing that I hear is the sound of ringing phones a lot of voices.

A man with dark skin and a black suit is sitting behind the desk talking on the phone like many other nurses that are answering pay phones and even cell phones. “Are you Eliza and James?” the man asks, his voice deep and rich. James and I both nod, out of breath. “Dr. Semen told me to give these to you. They are trackers that tell us how many people are sick. Whenever a person with the sickness comes in, we put a tracker on their right thumb. This will tell you how many people have the illness,” the man says, answering our nods.

He hands us a thin pad that has a glossy black cover and has a screen. It says 42, a high number. 42 on the second day? I ask myself. “The illnesses with slow down within a week,” the man says, as though reading my mind. Hannah and Victoria hurry into the hospital, a couple of nurses carrying a cot with Jane, Victoria’s mom, on it following behind them.

Victoria rushes over to me. She collapses into a hug and begins to sob. I pat her back and she gasps for more air, “Y…you ha…have to get th…the cure!” I blink away tears. Suddenly I know how much the sea depends on me.

The front door closes and opens again right after. Another family rushes into the hospital. Victoria lets go, sobbing. Her face is soaked and pink. “Please, will you really, really look for the cure?” Victoria asks me. I nod and wipe the tears off my cheeks.

“Victoria, if your mom hadn’t gotten sick I would have looked really hard, now with your mom sick, I will search really, really hard because that is what true friends do,” I say, trying to keep my voice strong, “it’s just like what you did last night, you saved me from death and now I will save your mom.”

Victoria hugs me again and we follow the nurses to the room where Victoria’s mom will be. Victoria opens the door and steps in. I give her some time to herself. When she opens the door again and ushers me in I walk through the door.

“Thank you, Eliza,” Victoria’s mom says as a take a seat in the metal chair in the corner of the room. I nod and everyone is silent. Hannah stands up and breaks the silence by saying, “James and Eliza have to find the cure, this is people’s life on line and we can’t let these lives slip away.”

I nod, standing up. “I don’t think that I should be here. This is your mom, not mine. I promise that I will find the cure,” I say wiping off my yoga pants. Victoria looks up at me.

“If you need me, I will be here, until you find the cure,” Victoria says, looking down at her hands that rest on her lap. I nod and wipe away the tears from my eyes. A nurse comes into the room and smiles at everyone.

“I knew that you would be here, Eliza, come with me,” the nurse says. Her hair is blond and tied into a ponytail. She is wearing blue scrubs and white sneakers. I stand up and followed the nurse out the door. Her sneakers squeak on the clean white linoleum floor as we walk down the hall.

I see James standing at the edge of the hall. He waves at me and smiles. I speed up to reach James. “56,” he says, his grin fading away. I nod and the nurse stops and opens the wooden door that says Employees Only. James makes a puzzled face and I look at him and shrug.

Inside there is a red couch, a bookcase, an oven and microwave, and a small refrigerator. I see the nurse that was in the room with Harper the day before. She has her hair down and is wearing jeans and a grey and white shirt.

“Take a seat, make yourself at home. Get a soda, microwave some pizza or something,” the nurse that we met yesterday says. I sit down while James goes to get a soda and some microwave pizza. Boys I think, always hungry.

“Really James? In the morning? We just woke up!” I exclaim.

“I am sorry that I did not introduce myself yesterday, it was just so chaotic,” the nurse says. I nod and the microwave beeps, telling James that his pizza is ready. “My name is Lydia Semen and I am the disease manager at the Sea Side Hospital.”

James sits down on the couch by me, chewing on his microwave pizza. I nod and elbow James, who nods afterward. In about thirty seconds the pizza has disappeared and on its way to James’ stomach.

“What about the doctor? Who was she?” I ask, questions suddenly filling my head. Lydia shakes her head and laughs. “That was my sister. She lives in Ocean Territory and luckily she was here while all this happened. She will be staying until you guys find the cure. Her name is Clare Semen.”

I nod again and wrinkle my nose, “Is she like the other ocean people?” Lydia laughs and makes a sign with her hand that indicates so-so. James stands up again. He walks over to the microwave and microwaves another pizza while still sipping at his soda.

“The reason that I have you back here so soon was for two reason, one to give you the devices to tell you how many people are sick who they are. In this case they only show the one sickness but on normal day it show how many people are at the hospital, what illness they have, who they are and what medication they need if they need one. . The second reason that I needed you in here was to tell you what to need to do. Well, I guess three things. I needed to tell you my name,” Lydia says. I laugh at the last comment. James smiles with his mouth closed because it is filled with microwavable pizza.  “What we think is that you will just have to ask the people of the desert to give you the cure. They want all people in all the regions to by healthy and give them what they need so that we do not war. Remember, this is just what we assume so please don’t blame us if it goes wrong. I guess you guys can go now,” the nurse says.

I nod and throw away my water bottle in the trashcan that is in the corner. James stands up with me and we walk out of the room. As we pass the room that Victoria’s mom is in we hear crying. James stops right after me. I hear voices and press my ear against to door. “Mom, I just don’t think that Eliza will find it.”

 Again, I would love it if you told me if I have any mistakes and if you have any suggestions please leave a comment telling me. I would love it if you would do that for me! Another chapter tomorrow! Bye! :)

Sea Quest: Desert Cures

I told you that I'd be back! Well to make up for two months without the quote of the month here is the first two chapter of my book, Sea Quest: Desert Cure. These first chapters are kind of weak but I got my writing stronger into the book. So here you go. 

                        Chapter One

Eliza

I slowly open my eyes to look off into the deep, blue ocean. The jewel on my necklace is shining brightly, almost as brightly as the sun. Little Harper and Jasper are playing in the water; their faces are bright and shining, just like the bright jewels they wear around their necks.  James is leaning against a large rock babysitting Harper and Jasper while my family is sitting on a blanket about 10 yards away.

            My mom looks over and shouts to me, “Eliza, we have some clam chowder for you. It’s going to get cold!” I sit up and wipe the sand off my jeans. This is one of the only things that are normal about our town. We always wear the same clothes that you would find in another town.

            My town is different for many reasons; the main one is the most unexpected. My town is different because everyone wears a colored necklace to match the area that they stay in. When in the area the necklace shines brightly, almost as brightly as the sun. When the person starts to leave that area the necklace grows dimmer and dimmer. If you get too far away from the area, the necklace will turns black. That is when the person dies.

            My town is almost the size of Italy. There are five different regions: marsh, ocean or sea, sky, forest, and desert. I belong with the sea. The ocean and sea is the same thing but are divided by a forest. If I were to wander all the way to the desert the necklace would blacken and I would die.

            I stand up and look at my friend, James. He is wearing a black shirt and faded jeans. He looks over at me and waves. I wave back and then walk over to the blanket my family is sitting on.

            I look down at my clam chowder and frown pushing it away. I’m not hungry. Justin, my older brother, looks at me with a puzzled look on his face. I shake my head and looked at my little sister, Daisy, who is sitting on the blanket chattering away telling one of her almost-true stories. I love Daisy so much, but sometimes she can talk too much. I tune into her voice, “And Joe fell and his head hit a little tiny goldfish and smashed it and the guts came out all over his face and Riley and I almost barfed but Sidney laughed so hard she almost fell down too. And after that, that mean Mrs. Turner told us to stop playing around or we would have to go back to you, Mommy.”

            I laugh and Justin gives Daisy a big smile. Daisy takes a long, deep breath and continues, “Do you know Harper and Jasper? Well I do. James was supposed to be babysitting them so he had to leave them on their own to play in the water. I heard that…” Daisy stops talking and looks up.

            It is James. “I was just wondering if Eliza could come and help me set up for the water festival… that is after she’s done, of course,” he says.

            “Sure, I’ll come help you, right now if you want me to!” I say quickly, it is the perfect excuse to not have to eat my clam chowder. I stand up again as Victoria runs over to us. Her blond hair flies behind her. The yellow shirt that she is wearing exposes the light of her necklace.

            “I need to get going, too.” Mom says, standing up to go and get some fish for the festival.

“I guess we get to finally learn to talk to seals tonight. Do you think that all of the seals are going to show up like everyone says? And I heard we get to dive under the water and search for the ‘hidden mermaid treasure’,” I say to Victoria when she finally has caught up.

            “Yeah, and my mom supposed to make a huge announcement. All I know is that my dad is super proud about it. Oh and the other exciting thing, we found out that my mom is supposed to have a girl,” Victoria says.

            I squeal and jump up and down for a minute. Victoria’s mom is pregnant and yesterday they went to get the ultrasound done. Victoria and Hannah, Victoria’s sister, were hoping for a girl while their dad was hoping for a boy. Their family is still going to be an all girl family.

            We reach the clearing where we are holding the festival. James quickly climbs up the ladder onto the four logs that make a square with nothing inside it. He picks up a string of colorful lights and begins to tie them to the logs. He’s being his normal self and taking the most risky job. Victoria and I decide to set up chairs and tables underneath him.

            “You’re right. He does look proud. I wonder the announcement is going to be,” I tell her, tucking my brown hair behind my ear. She nods and rolls her eyes. I look over at her dad, across the beach trying to catch fish for the festival.

            “He’s been looking like that all week, like he saved a million people,” Victoria says, rolling her eyes again. I laugh and pick up a chair to set up by the kids’ table.

            I turn toward my mom just in time to see her fall in the water soaking her clothes. I hear Victoria laugh from behind me. I turn around to look at Victoria who is looking at my mom. She looks mad. She picks up the bucket with two fish and marches into our house.

            I turn around to put up some more chairs, trying not to laugh. Victoria is giggling really loud and the people that are getting fish for the party turns to look at her. I turn around to hide my laughter from everyone around us. Suddenly I notice that it’s not just Victoria laughing, it’s James, too. My laughter overcomes me and I start to giggle. Now everyone is looking at us.

            Victoria’s dad is trying to keep a straight face but it is obvious that he saw my mom fall in and march off. After I look at Victoria’s dad I look at her younger sister, Hannah, who is laughing like the rest of us, we all saw her fall in.

            “That…was…so…fun-n-y!” Hannah says, breathless from laughing so hard. She falls on the sand and clutches her stomach as she rolls back and forth. James’ hand slips and he almost falls onto all of the chairs and tables. He catches himself and we start to laugh harder. I am the first to recover from the laughter, then James, and then Victoria. Now Hannah is the only one giggling so we all look at her.

            She’s rolling on the ground laughing like someone is tickling her. Everyone is looking at her and I don’t think she notices that everyone has stopped laughing. Suddenly she opens her eyes to look at us, still laughing and rolling on the ground.

            Victoria walks over to her and stands over her with her hands on her hips.  Hannah stops laughing and looks up at her. “Oh…,” she says, beginning to blush in embarrassment.

            “Yeah, I don’t think it was that funny,” Victoria says, a little smile resting on her face. Almost everyone close by laughs, but not as hard as Hannah just a minute before.

“Look at that one with the sick fish-green dress,” Victoria says, amusement in her voice. James and I laugh as we look at the lady who has come with all the other people from the ocean for the annual Water Festival.

            “I’m so glad that we didn’t have to go back to the ocean this year for the water party. Remember last year when I fell in and all of the ocean people were picking on me the rest of the week?” I say looking at Victoria and James.

            “They had the worst food there. I was happy to eat starfish when we got home. At least it was better then their food. Fish Eye soufflé, was that it?” James says. We all laugh. One of the kids from the ocean turns around to look at us; it’s obvious that he heard us talking.

            “You are just used to this disgusting food, fish ice cream, isn’t that it?” he says mocking James at the end of his sentence. I hear snickers from the table. The boy is rather chubby and has black hair that is sticking to his head with hair spray.

            “Well at least we wear normal clothes, unlike you ocean people,” Victoria says smirking at them. She is referring to the 1800 style clothing. Many of the people wear poufy collars around their neck. “We don’t look like clowns, like you.” James covers his mouth to stop himself from laughing.

            The boy rolls his eyes and turns away. The people on the table are whispering. “Come on, let’s move away from the ocean people,” James says picking up his plate. We move toward the front of the clearing. I sit down and bite into my fish, holding it in my mouth for a little bit before chewing and swallowing to let the flavor release.

            I see Victoria’s mom stand up. “What’re you looking at?” Victoria says, pushing her food into her cheek before talking. I nod at her mom who is now almost to our table. Victoria turns around to look at her mom. She drops her fork, chews the food in her mouth and swallows.

            “It’s finally time! I wonder what the announcement is,” Victoria says her eyes getting wider and wider. Hannah comes and sits next to us, along with another person. I assume it’s an ocean person.

            “Hey guys, this is Gracie. She’s from the ocean,” Hannah says as she sets down her plate. Gracie and Hannah both have tuna salad and clam on their plates. I scrunch up my nose when I see that Gracie put ketchup on her clam.

            She smiles and waves before sitting down. I look down at my fish; I’m not hungry anymore. “You do not eat clams with ketchup here?” Gracie says, a hint of a British accent in her voice. Her voice is like all of the people from the ocean.

            “Um…no. How did you know?” I ask Gracie. Gracie frowns and turns to Hannah. She whispers something into Hannah’s ear. Hannah looks back at Gracie with a face that says, seriously, you should know that.

            “You were just…um, eyeing my plate like there are octopi on it,” Gracie says, her face scrunched up like octopus is disgusting. Victoria makes a face and says, “I love octopus.”

            Gracie rolls her eyes and stands up to move. She picks up her plate and walks over to the table with the chubby boy. Hannah rolls her eyes and whispers, “Mom told me that I had to stay with her, but I guess I won’t.”

            I hear someone whistle so I turn around to look at the microphone that is at the front of the clearing. There stands Victoria Halycoat’s mom. She clears her throat and begins to talk, mostly to Victoria and Hannah.

            “Victoria, Hannah, I have something to tell you. I also think that all the other sea people would like to hear, too, so I have decided to make the announcement tonight, while everyone is here.”

            “Girls, we are going to start a restaurant in our basement,” Victoria’s mom says. Victoria smiles and looks over at Hannah. Hannah is smiling too. Victoria’s is a historical site. Because it’s historical they have all this antique furniture and for two week every four months their family dresses up in these really old clothes. I always liked those days. Every single day that they had the touring of the house I would go over there and take the tour even though I new the house like the back of my hand. I think that having a restaurant in their basement, the most antique looking of all, would be so cool. 

            Victoria’s mom steps out of the way of the microphone and walk over to our table she sits down and starts talking, “Victoria and Hannah, I need you to listen really closely. Because we are starting the restaurant, people are going to be taking tours of our house. You can take the turn as being waitresses as much as you want but as long as you are in the house, unless the restaurant is closed, you are going to have to wear your costumes.”

            When Victoria’s mom, Jane, stops talking, Victoria’s smile melts. “They costumes?” Hannah asks in horror. Hannah and Victoria hate the costumes that they have to wear.

            “But Mom, can’t we only wear them when we are working?” Victoria asks. Victoria’s mom shakes her head and smiles.

            “Why are you laughing?” Hannah asks crossly.

            “I was just thinking, this means that you have to keep your rooms clean,” Jane says. Hannah and Victoria don’t smile. “Come on girls, this is going to be fun,” Jane tries. Hannah and Victoria still don’t smile. Hannah has her arms crossed and Victoria is glaring at her mom.

            “Um, well, then I think that we might need to…” James starts.

            “Yeah, we better be leaving, I think that we are starting to go to talk to seals,” I say.

            James smiles, grabs Victoria’s arm, and says, “Come on Victoria, we can’t be late. “

            “People of the water, I would like you to look at our wonderful, new thirteen year-old and to be thirteen year-olds. Today they will discover the way of seals and dive for the mermaid treasure. The person who finds the mermaid treasure will have a day for special rewards and a party,” Mrs. Akalea says. Mrs. Akalea was our sixth grade teacher who is 24 and always wears jeans and a t-shirt except for on the Water Festivals. Today she wore a sundress with a little white sweater on her shoulders. Her light brown hair is held back in a fancy bun.

            Victoria’s eyebrows rise. Mrs. Akalea and smiles tells not to dive in yet.  “Heads out of the water!” Mrs. Akalea says when some heads go under the water. “We will start by talking to the seals. First you must catch the sea rock and then you must suck on it until it has dissolved, then you need to swim to the nearest seal and say: ‘This is my first time talking to the wonder-filled, beautiful seals.’ Do you understand?” she says. I nod and then wait for her to throw the sea rock at us.

            I catch the rock and shove it in my mouth. It dissolves quickly so I dive under the water and wait for Victoria because James is already under with me. Victoria dives under a second later and we begin to swim.

            My head pops up over the water after we reach to first three seals. Victoria is already talking but James isn’t up and out of the water yet. “This is my first time talking to the wonder-filled, beautiful seals,” I say breathlessly. A white seal with only a couple of light gray spots turns to look at me.

            “My name is Takso. I am only 4 months old! You must be the new teen aagers, my momma told me about you!” the seals say quickly.

            I giggle and say, “It’s actually teenager.” I hear Takso whisper, “Teenagers… interesting.” I look over at Victoria who is trying to talk to a seal but it doesn’t look like she is having a lot of success.

            “Now, that was rude, I am not slimy!” I hear the seal saying to Victoria. I laugh and turn back to Takso so that I can talk to him. He is looking at Victoria and the seal.

            “That’s my mom. Who’s that talking to her?” Takso says, his white body glistening in the sun.

            “That’s my best friend, Victoria. It looks like she is not having much success talking to her. Maybe you could try and talk to her,” I say. I’m being optimistic but I don’t want Victoria to fail.

            “Okay. Maybe I can talk to her, and maybe after that I’ll get my gray and spotted skin!” Takso says, getting more and more excited. I watch as he waddles away to Victoria.

            I slide onto the rock and lay down to watch the conversation, hoping that Victoria won’t be stubborn. The rock is cold but the sun is shining really hard, warming me so I forget about the cold.

            “Takso, you are so cute,” Victoria says petting Takso’s slick back. Takso laughs and hits his tail fin on the gray stone. I smile at Victoria who looks my way.

            “I just met that teenager over there! She’s nice but she didn’t tell me her name,” Takso is saying as Victoria thrums her fingers on the rock with anticipation as she waits for Takso to let her pet him again.

            “That’s Eliza, my best friend. She’s lots of fun and we helped set up for the big festival today,” Victoria says her smile going from ear to ear. I hear a whistle from the beach and stand up.

            Victoria begins swimming back to the shore as I dive in. We swim until the sand gently hits our toes.  We begin to walk once the water is shallow enough.

            “Now, we will start our search for the mermaid treasure. Search and search and if you find it… well, you get lots of stuff,” Mrs. Akalea says, still looking proud for her former sixth graders.

            I dive under at the same time that Victoria and James dive under. We all split up, James off to the left and Victoria off to the right. I come up to get a breath and see that everyone is far away. I go back under and see that Victoria and James are gone. I spot a sea cave and swim toward it.

            When I get in the cave I let my feet fall onto the cave ground. In the far corner, to the right, there is a pile of sand and in the left corner there is a small hole. I decide to search in the sand before searching in the hole; there could be eels or lobster in the holes. I have always been warned never to reach inside one of them, even if you think you know that there is nothing in it.

            As I dig, the sand gets stuck in my fingernails. Since it is low tide, the cave is filled with air so that I can talk and breathe. I stand up and begin to pick the sand out of my fingernails.

            “Eliza, you’ve got to come see this!” Victoria says, suddenly appearing at the edge of the cave, making me jump. I walk toward Victoria, her face clearly saying, oh, this is so exciting! I’m so excited! We start swimming when we reach to water.

            Victoria leads me right of the cave and then down. We start to get deeper and deeper, the light becoming dimmer and dimmer. Suddenly Victoria moves sharply to the left and then stops. We are facing a large, wavy, and light pink coral.

            At the side of the coral we see a red claw that could belong to a lobster. Then the claw moves slightly to the left, and we both see the corner of a wooden box…the mermaid treasure!

            I smile and begin to swim to the surface; I’m running out of air. I reach the surface and Victoria’s head pops out of the water only a second later, her blond hair wet and her green eyes gleaming.

             “I can’t believe it!” I exclaim, “But who will bring it to the surface?” I turn to look at Victoria who is looking wide-eyed into the water. She looks up, the bright light in her eyes slightly dying.

            “You have to take it, Liza! You deserve it!” Victoria says. I shake my head and grab Victoria’s arm. She smiles at me, the smile bigger than I’d ever seen it. I close my eyes and shake my head again.

            “Vic, you found it, you have to take it. If you don’t take it, I won’t take it,” I say. Victoria nods and dives under. I sigh and dive under after her. As I sink down to the bottom I grab onto to the dead coral that is stuck on the rocks to help lower myself with less effort.

            When I get down to the bottom I see Victoria looking at the corner of the treasure box. Then the thought hits me, hard:  How are we going to get past the lobster? Victoria looks up at me hopefully, and then she points at the claw. I nod and close my eyes, slowly reaching through the coral, its arms feeling cool on my hand. I shiver as I think of the lobster latching onto my hand, but I am brave and slowly move my hand closer and closer to the treasure. I concentrate on keeping myself calm. I know that if the lobster closes his claw on my hand the pain will be excruciating. But maybe-just maybe it won’t.

            Suddenly something sharp and powerful latches onto my hand…the lobster. I try to holler in pain but the water rushes into my mouth, leaving me trying to cough, only to bring more water rushing in.

            I shake my hand violently, trying to get the lobster off but it only gets a stronger grip. I can feel the claw digging into my hand. I try to swim to the top but my body feels like lead and it feels like my lungs are full of sand and water. I feel Victoria grab my hand and frantically try to pull me to the surface.

            My head hits the surface and I begin to gasp and cough. My vision starts to clear and I see Victoria who is looking at me, worried. “Eliza, Liza, are you okay? Eliza is everything okay? Liza!”

            “Vic, I’m fine. You go and get that mermaid treasure. The lobster is gone,” I say weakly. I see a rock that is right by me so I lie down to rest my head, which is pounding. I look down at my hand, which is bleeding. Do scars heal? I ask myself. Don’t think about what will happen after, just live in the present, I think, trying to be more positive.

            “Eliza, are you sure you are okay? Do you want me to take you to the beach before I get the treasure?” Victoria says nervously.

            “Okay, let me answer your questions. First, yes, I’m okay. Second, just go and get your treasure. I don’t want you to miss this,” I say, hoarsely. Victoria nods and dives under, quickly coming up again after a minute.

            “I’ve got it, let’s go!” Victoria shouts once she comes up. I swim slowly to shore, Victoria far ahead of me. I begin to walk when my toes start to drag on the sand.  The water gets to my knees and Mrs. Akalea stops talking to Victoria and runs over to me to inspect my hand.

            “Are you okay? Oh, you’re bleeding!” she says. My parents reach me and my mom wraps my hand with a cloth. James walks over, his boyish grin dancing on his face.

            “Liza, you should have seen that lobster fly!” he says, laughing

            “James, what really happened?” I ask as we sit down. I rub my forehead and close my eyes. My head is pounding and I have one question swirling around in my head. What happened in everyone else’s eyes?

            James starts out with a boyish grin, it fading as he reaches the end. “Well, first we all saw you come up from the water, gasping and coughing and everyone looked at you. Then they saw the lobster and they all started to swim back to the beach. But something else happened, too. Someone is sick. She needs our help.

Chapter Two

Eliza

“What do you mean someone is sick? People get sick all the time,” I say. James shakes his head as a doctor walks over to us.

            “This is different Eliza, it’s Harper and her necklace was getting dimmer,” James says nervously. I see all the ocean people gathered around Victoria who is showing everyone the mermaid treasure.

            “Are you Eliza?” the doctor that was walking up to us asks. I nod. “Follow me.” James and I jog behind the doctor as we hurry to the hospital.

            “James, tell me the story,” I say quickly. I see him close his eyes and slow down. I can tell that he is sad. He had always been a best friend of Harper. He babysat her almost every day and called her “Princess of the Sea.”

            “Well, I had just come onto the beach when I heard coughing so I turned around and saw Harper and Jasper running in circles on the sand. It was Harper who was coughing. Her mom picked her up and tickled her but Harper didn’t laugh. Instead she started crying and she started coughing even harder,” James stops here and closes his eyes again. I can see he is trying to blink away tears.

            “Her mom took her necklace out to look at it. She was worried, of course,” James stops again and I see a glistening tear slide down his cheek, which he wipes away quickly. I take a deep breath and before he can start talking again I interrupt, “James, I’m sorry, if you don’t want to tell the rest of the story then you don’t have to.” James shakes his head, his eyes still closed. I pause while the doctor opens the door.

            “Eliza, you are going to help me. You deserve to know what happened,” he says, opening his eyes, “Her necklace was getting dimmer. Harper’s mom rushed her here. The nurses and doctors have been prepared for this. We have to help.”

            “ James, Eliza, come in,” the doctor says motioning toward a door in front of us. On the side reads the numbers 111. I step forward, grab onto the doorknob and yank it open. The doctor holds the door open as James and I speed walk into the room.

            The room is white like any hospital. On the bed in the corner Harper is lying down crying so hard she can barely breathe. Her mom is sitting next to her, her head bent. She looks up and I can see that her eyes are red from crying.

            “I’m sorry, but Ms. Haplix, we need you to leave your daughter really quick,” the doctor says, sitting on the chair that is by the T.V. Ms. Haplix, Harper’s mom, nods and stands up, grabs her purse and walks out of the room.

            James quickly takes the seat where Ms. Haplix was sitting. “Princess of the Sea,” James says quietly. Harper’s crying eases to little whimpers as James places his hand on hers.

            “Jame, Mommy scared,” Harper whimpers. I can see dark lines under her eyes, proving that she is really sick. James nods and strokes her little hand. A tear slips down his cheek and onto the bed.

            “Harper, it will be okay,” the doctor says, soothingly. The door opens and a nurse walks in along with Victoria, Jasper, and Jasper’s mom. Victoria is looking confused and follows the nurse who walks over to Harpers bedside.

            The nurse gingerly picks up the necklace off her chest and examine it. It is dimmer than it was this morning and the chain is turning rusty. Victoria is looking over the nurse’s shoulders, on her tiptoes.

            “Princess of the Sea,” James says again, this time quieter than the last.  Harper sits up and moves her hand out from under James’. She coughs and wraps her arms around James’ neck. James hugs her back and tears begin to slide down his cheeks.

            “I okay, Jame. I okay,” Harper says weakly. James pats her back and sets her down on the bed.

            “I know that, Princess. I know,” James says, wiping away his tears. Harper coughs and lies back down. Her hair spreads out over the white pillow.

            “I tired, Jame. I want to go sleep,” she says closing her eyes. James nods and put his hand on her arm. We are all silent and in a few minutes the quiet snoring of a child fills the room.

            “Mrs. Garter, Jasper, it is time to leave,” the nurse says to Jasper and his mom. They nod and walk out of the room. “Eliza, James, we need your help. This is important.”

            I look at the doctor and say, “What about Victoria, can she help us?” The doctor shakes her head and looks from me to Victoria and back to me. Victoria takes some of her hair and twirls it around her finger.

            “I’m sorry, Victoria, your mom is having a baby pretty soon and you will need to help her. You will have to stay behind to help your mother,” the doctor says, getting quieter and quieter. Everyone goes silent and the only sounds that fill the room are crying from Victoria, who has covered her face and started weeping, and the quiet snoring of a young child.

            “Eliza, James, I need you to listen closely,” the doctor says, breaking the silence. I nod and look at Victoria one last time then look at the doctor. “The only way you can stop this is to travel to the desert and find the cure,” she says.

            I shake my head and say quietly, “Isn’t that impossible?” The doctor and nurse shake their heads at the same time.

            “It is not impossible to some, like you. The journey is extremely dangerous,” the nurse says, her voice deeper than I expect.

            “Why don’t you have an adult do it if it’s so dangerous?” I ask the doctor and nurse. Victoria sits down, looking sorrowful. I look over at James who is standing up, wiping off his jeans.

            I twirl my wet, brown hair around my finger, nervously as the nurse and the doctor try to find the right words. Their mouths move soundlessly, like a fish without water. “That’s the problem. This needs a special cure; one that only people fewer than 15 can find. And that is you” the nurse says, finally getting sound to come out of her mouth.

            “Victoria, it’s not that you can’t go on the journey into the desert like James and Eliza, it’s just that your mom is going to have her baby soon and I think you would like to be there when it happens,” the doctor says after seeing Victoria slump down further into the chair that she is sitting in.

            Victoria nods and closes her eyes saying, “I wonder if I stay, will my mom let me name it.” The nurse nods and says in her deep voice, “I will make sure that you are able to name it, back to you Eliza and James. You will leave in a week. The first thing that you will be doing is you will be going on a small boat with only your supplies, your horses and yourself.”

            I nod and look at the doctor and then to the nurse, “Should we start getting ready today?” The nurse held up her index finger and started talking, “We will get to that. After that you should get to the ocean and find the walkway to the sky, which will lead you to into the sky and then down into the forest. After that, you should also be able to get to the marsh because the forest is only small. Lastly you will have to make it into the desert. Bring lots of water or you are sure to die.”

            I nod. “Do you think that they will give us the cure right away?”

This time the doctor answers, “No one can be sure, but we think that it depends on what is happening over there. The only reason that you need to visit every place is to see if it is happening to them too, Yes, you need to start packing today. You will need at least 7 full outfits and lots of metal water bottles. Bring food, also.”

            I stand up after the doctor is done talking. “You will need to do this quick. This is a matter of life or death,” the nurse says. James slowly takes his hand off of Harper’s and taps Victoria on the shoulder. Victoria stands up quickly and we all walk out of the hospital room.

            We leave the hospital. James looks stiff and Victoria’s eyes are red. “Victoria, we are all really sorry that you can’t come, it’s just that your mom…”

 Victoria interrupts me, “DON’T REMIND ME! JUST DON’T!” She storms off. I see lights off on the beach. The fireworks are about to start and all of the people are getting ready.

            My stomach is tied in a knot and I have a slight headache. James starts walking toward his house. His face is pale and I can tell that he is tired. Suddenly he turns his head and shouts so that I can hear him, “This is only the beginning!” I nod my head and close my eyes. My head is pounding again and my hand is throbbing. I open my eyes and look back over at James, who wears a sympathetic look.

            “I’ll be okay! I know this is the only the beginning!” I call back, wincing at my last sentence. The only reason that I say this is because I know that it is true. I close my eyes again and after a while I hear the distant sound of a door slamming.

            I open my eyes again. I don’t feel like fireworks right now but I know that I will never be able to sleep with all of my thought swirling around in my head. I slowly walk toward my house on the far side of the beach against the cliff.

            I reach the door, which is unlocked. I slowly walk up to my room, my head throbbing more than ever. I reach my room with the sign on the door, Liza’s Room Rule: Always Smile.

            I hear a meow. I look down at my longhaired grey tabby, Cricket. She rubs her body around my legs, purring. I zombie walk into my room. My purple blanket is spread perfectly across my bed. I take out my green diary and begin to write.

June 15

Today was the water festival. First we ate dinner, then Vic’s mom made this huge announcement that their family is going to start a restaurant in their basement. I’m so excited. The other thing that we found out is that Vic’s mom is going to have a little baby girl.

After that we went and talked to seals. I talked to a white one named Takso. He was really young. Later we went to search for the mermaid treasure. Did you know that is 1945 some twelve-year-olds searched for 3 days and 2 nights but still couldn’t find it? Finally on the fourth day the elder told them to stop searching. Some say that nobody has ever found it since then.

Well, anyway, Victoria found the new treasure but there was a lobster in front of it. I reached through to get the treasure because Victoria thought the lobster was not real. The claw of the lobster pinched me. My hand was bleeding and I almost drowned.

After I got back to shore

            I stop, I can’t go on. Maybe later. I closed my eyes. At least my headache has stopped. I rest my head on the lavender pillow that sits on the top of my bed.

            The next thing I know, it is 6:45 in the morning and my alarm is going off.

If you want to help me out, please tell me if their are any mistakes. Also tell me if you have any suggestions. Thanks!