Carson

When I awoke, the ship was empty. I looked around me. The door to my left, the small
table that held playing cards and my collection of knives. The door was slightly cracked open
and I could see outside from my small twin bed. Everyone had left. I wandered towards the
living room where the 2 L shaped couches stood and the 92 Inch HD TV could be seen from the
back of the kItchen and had speakers that could be heard from anywhere In the shIp at volume
48 and guess what? No one. The kItchen? Nope. Where had they gone? Had they left? Why?
MemorIes flashed In my mInd. The boardIng, the launch, and the others. I remembered JulIe
and Dad. DId they know I was stIll up here? I checked the cameras. They were down. The
sound recorder had some evIdence. I pushed the play button and sIrens blared from the small
speaker. There were shouts from my fellow explorers.
Get out! Get out! Into the pods! Into the pods! Hurry! Its goIng to hIt! Out! Out!
They were calls of evacuatIon. Soon, the recorders batterIes dIed, and the sound of my
frIends dIsappeared. The others mustve evacuated because of somethIng, somethIng that was
goIng to hIt? What does that mean? The radar gave me the answer. An asteroId was goIng to
hIt my shIp, The MotIve. ThIs shows that It contrasts character thInkIng wIth hIs or her
actIons/dIalogue.
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Zardon
My multIple hearts stopped at the sound of the news. My neon orange skIn started
turnIng pale. Dead. My father, dead. It hIt me lIke an oncomIng shIp. He wasnt comIng home.
He wasnt to be seen agaIn. I looked down at my purple tentacles. How dId thIs happen? He
was perfectly healthy. A murder perhaps? That was the only reasonable explanatIon. So
someone kIlled my father. But who? The planets guard left me. I sat on the old chaIr my father
had found In the furnIture sectIon of thIs wasteland. It dIdnt help me focus about the murder. I
remembered hIs long, green, curly haIr. The tImes when he had taken me to see my favorIte
Yarbonok team, The Zanglong Ball Bangers. He had gIven me so many memorIes that I
wouldnt get. and then the fIght flashed through my head. The fIght. I was overcome wIth guIlt. I
hadn't even saId sorry. FIghtIng over a sIlly thIng lIke the party. Even more guIlt. I had
dIsobeyed hIm. I was suddenly furIous. Mad at whoever the murderer was. I was goIng to fInd
that evIl lIttle creature! I was goIng to get permIssIon for mom, but only when she was In one of
her crazy tImes, and I was goIng to personally fInd a way to get hIm back.

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Carson
It had been 3 days sInce the others have left. Im aboard up here on The MotIve. I had
dIscovered that the only thIngs to eat were drIed turkey rolls, whole wheat bread, and
pIneapple.
I decIded to eat somethIng after playIng a lIttle bIt of floor hockey In the sports room. It
was pIneapple day. Mondays are drIed turkey. Tuesdays are wheat bread. Wednesdays are

drIed turkey. Thursdays are pIneapple. FrIdays are wheat bread. Saturdays are pIneapple.
Sundays are anythIng you want day. Today was a Thursday. I strolled to the kItchen and took
the last pIneapple. (Bert, one of my companIons loves pIneapple) LuckIly, It automatIcally
restocks every week. Anyways, I carrIed the prIckly fruIt over to the small Island table and took
out the cuttIng board. A knIfe wIth a covered blade came out of a slIt In the table. I grabbed the
knIfe and put It Into the pIneapple. I had to push hard Into It to make It splIt In half. I kept cuttIng
untIl there were multIple bIte-sIzed pIeces. I used the knIfe to slIde the pIneapple onto a plate,
set the knIfe down (whIch was Inserted back Into the table), and brought the pIneapple to a
couch------- and sat down and started eatIng It whIle I thought about the future.
Is the radar rIght? Was an asteroId goIng to hIt? If so, I need to get off of thIs spacecraft
asap. I fInIshed my pIneapple as In thought of a plan to get off of The MotIve. I came up wIth a
plan. I was goIng to see If there was any left over pods In the dockIng bay. If there was, I was
goIng to use my key card to unlock It, I was goIng to load It wIth food, water, and my belongIngs
IncludIng my clothes, the pIctures of my famIly, my phone (that dIdnt work well In space but had
an app that I could try to contact Earth from), and my collectIon of knIves. Then, I was goIng to
hot wIre the pod to start It up, and launch Into Earth! I stood up to go check the dockIng bay so
quIckly, my plate fell and crashed to the ground and broke Into a mIllIon pIeces. I ran towards
the bay, determIned to get off thIs doomed spacecraft.
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Zardon
My mom arrIved home just as I fInIshed packIng my stuff. I ran out of my bedroom (whIch used
to be a spacecraft made by the Zapose) and greeted her at the front door.
Hey mom! How was work? I asked In an enthusIastIc voIce to try and get her rIled up
Into her crazy mode.
She looked at the old pIcture of dad that was hangIng In the room. It was fIne.
It sure dIdnt look lIke It. Is everythIng okay?
She all the sudden burst lIke a balloon In a pIne tree forest. No Its not okay. She
started cryIng. My husbands dead. My boss fIred me from my job. Im a wreck! She ran to the
old couch and flopped down onto It. I left her to her mournIng. I slowly walked Into my bedroom
to make It look lIke I was not In a hurry. I was thInkIng,
If she wont go Into her crazy state because shes too sad, then I guess Ill have to
fIgure out a way to get out of the house a dIfferent way. I thought of the wIndow above where
my dads bed Is. I could escape through the wIndow, and run to town to try and rent a
spacecraft and try to fInd my dads murderer!
I opened my safe to check how much money I have. There was 278 credIts. I hoped that
was enough to rent a spacecraft, because It needed to be enough for my plan of escape to
work! I checked that my mom was stIll cryIng and that I had all my stuff, and hurrIed to my dads
room. HIs dresser stood In the corner of the room. Its front left leg was mIssIng from the tIme
when my dad and I rough housed In thIs room. The memorIes. There was a pIcture of the tIme
my dad, my mom, and I found the fully functIonally spacecraft (the one my dad crashed In) In
the junk. The memorIes. My dads kIng sIzed bed sat In the perfect center of the room, as my

dad was a mathematIcIan and wanted everythIng perfect and exact. The memorIes. HIs wIndow
on the ceIlIng was exactly above the place where he slept was. I clImbed onto the bed and
reached up to open the wIndow. Not tall enough. I remembered the old footstool we had In our
basement. It would be just tall enough! My stuff fell to the floor as I bolted for the basement. I
wanted to fInd my dads kIller as soon as possIble.
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Carson
I looked around the bay. There were 7 mInIvan sIzed holes on two of the sIdes. Each one was
supposed to have a pod the sIze of a Volkswageon Beetle. There was one assIgned to each
explorer on the shIp. Each garages InsIde was decorated In a dIfferent way. I walked slowly to
my pods garage, whIch was located at the very end of the bay. As I passed Berts garage whos
was next to mIne) I peaked InsIde. There was, as you can guess, a poster of a gIant pIneapple,
a shelf, full of pIneapples, and a small car pod that was covered In pIneapple decals.
Yes! I exclaImed out loud. If my pod Isnt there, I can use Berts! But, a small questIon
was floatIng In the back of my head. Actually, why Is It stIll here? I asked myself. As I
pondered over thIs questIon I moved to the next garage. I remembered It well. There was just
one poster. A poster of my dog Buddy. I also had a cover for the pod wIndow so I could have a
quIet space If I needed to. I opened my pod door and to my surprIse, It was fIlled wIth posters
and there was no car. In fact, they were all the same poster. I stepped In the garage to get a
closer look. They were hung up wIth a small knIfe. My knIfes! I pulled the knIfe I purchased from
ChIna off of one of the walls. The poster swIftly fell to the floor. It read:
Wanted
KItty buck cat
Reward: 5000 credIts.
DEAD OR ALIVE
It also had a pIcture of thIs so called KItty. He was a mean, ferocIous lookIng cat wIth
dIrty whIte fur, and penetratIng green Is. He was mIssIng a chunk of hIs left ear (probably from a
fIght) and a dIstInctIve bald spot on hIs back rIght paw. I realIzed what these posters meant.
KItty Cat had stolen my 15000 dollar automobIle! If I ever saw that lIttle felIne! I was goIng to
take that pod away from hIm and get off thIs spacecraft! One questIon from the back of my mInd
floated to the front. Why had KItty Cat left hIs Wanted poster In the sIght of hIs crIme. I
decIded that thIs questIon was yet to be answered and traveled back to Berts garage.
Berts pIneapple shIp wIll be good enough to get me off of The MotIve! I exclaImed out
loud, wIthout even meanIng to.
I hurrIed to the pIneapple shelf and grabbed the keys that were hangIng from a
pIneapple shaped hook off of the shelf and clImbed aboard The pIneapple or at least thats what
the stIcker on the back of the pod saId. I shoved the keys Into the IgnItIon and waIted for the
sound of the hummIng motor and the sound of the pIneapple song that had been programmed

to play after someone started the engIne. But the sound never came. The song never played.
The only sound was a someone coughIng. WaIt! I realIzed, Thats the sound the pod makes
when Its not workIng correctly and Is about to self destruct! I jammed my fInger on the eject
button. The buttons stIll wont work! I pressed agaInst the pods clear wIndow. No luck. I needed
a new way to get out! I frantIcally press buttons and pushed on the glass. I only had a few
seconds. Push! Push! FInally, the wIndow popped out of place. Yes! success! An automated
voIce could be heard from the Installed speakers. 5. 4. I jumped out of the pod and ran for the
exIt. 3. Come on! Go up door! 2. The door came free and swung upward. 1. I sprInted about 5
meters before the explosIon from the pod. All I could hear was rIngIng. The last thIng I saw was
the garage collapsIng as I thought, There Is no escape from the shIp. Then, I passed out.
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Zardon
The basement was where my mom and I kept all of our old belongIngs. There were 5 year old
sweaters stacked up on a table that was now home to an unexpected pet, the mIce! The old
washIng machIne sat and collected dust In the far corner. An old bookcase stood next to the
washIng machIne and held all of my old toys, books, and clothes. The only lIght came from a
crack In the ceIlIng that connected to the crack on the floor In the kItchen. Dust fIlled the aIr. I
scanned my surroundIngs. The stool was not In sIght. I wandered towards the
washer.MemorIes of the tImes my dad, my mom and I used and played wIth the assorted Items
washed through my mInd lIke a flood. I checked around the washer on all sIdes. No stool.
Through the corner of my I, somethIng metal glInted In the mInImal lIght. The stool! I ran
towards the stool and scooped It up. I tIptoed up the staIrs, careful not to attract any attentIon.
When I reached the top, I peaked over the staIrway to see what my mom was doIng. She was
slowly breathIng on the couch. They way she was layIng, wIth her hands flopped behInd her
and her leg up on the armrest, I knew she was asleep. As I quIetly but hurrIedly shuffled past
her, my mom turned In her sleep. I froze, careful not to awaken her. She moaned once whIch
confIrmed that she was sleepIng agaIn. I waIted 30 seconds before I contInued my escape
plans. I was out of breath when I arrIved at my dads bedroom. After gatherIng my stuff, I placed
the stool rIght below the wIndow In the ceIlIng. I put one foot on the fIrst step. It was slIghtly
wobbly, but It held my waIt. I hosted myself up onto the roof and squInted from the brIght sun. I
was free from my house. Free to fInd my dads murderer. But I had to be cautIous. My mom
would awake soon and she would not be happy to fInd the last of her famIly, gone. I had to get
some ground In between me and the house before I would know that I would be safe for a
whIle. HoppIng off the roof, I looked back. I would mIss my home for a whIle, but I would be
back. I looked at the road ahead of me. It was tIme to get goIng.
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Carson

It had been a few hours after the pod had blown up. I had changed Into a paIr of clothes that
werent as, well, blown up! I had gotten somethIng to eat and was now sIttIng on the couch. I
was thInkIng of a new plan to escape when a loud boom rattled the shIp. My ImmedIate
explanatIon for thIs noIse was that the asteroId was hIttIng The MotIve. It wasnt supposed to hIt
untIl next week! How can It be hIttIng now? I sprung up from the couch and ran the the bay to
look out the wIndow. It wasnt an asteroId! But, If It wasnt an asteroId, then what was It? I trIed
to IdentIfy the object. It seemed to be a, a, an UnIdentIfIed FlyIng Object! A spacecraft! If It was,
perhaps, a spacecraft, then why was It hurtlIng towards my shIp lIke a gIraffe tryIng to Ice skate.
I frantIcally waved my hands around, tryIng to get the drIver's attentIon. Suddenly It dawned on
me. There mIght not be a drIver! I ran to the shIps control room. Maybe If I could move the shIp
away from the spacecraft, maybe I can dodge the drIverless spacecraft. I pulled a lever,
hoppIng that It would turn the shIp. I heard musIc start playIng In Berts room. Nope. My hand
made contact wIth a yellow button and all the lIghts In the shIp started blInkIng on and off. Nope
agaIn. Button after button I pressed, each one havIng a dIfferent result. DIsco ball from the
ceIlIng. Nope. Cheese launcher. Nope, but useful. WIndshIeld wIpers on all the wIndows, secret
doors, random hot tubs poppIng up In random places. Nope, nope, nope. There were four more
buttons. Each one had any arrow poIntIng In a dIfferent dIrectIon. Maybe these were the control
buttons. I pressed the button that was poIntIng towards my rIght. A boxIng glove on a sprIng
shot out of the rIght wall. Its tIp made contact wIth my rIght cheek. My cheek screamed wIth
paIn.
Why would they put a button that does that? I asked myself. The other buttons must
do the same thIng, but from dIfferent dIrectIons! I made a mental note to stay away from the
arrow labeled buttons. I walked out of the control room, a sense of faIlure cloudIng my braIn. I
was never goIng to get off of thIs shIp. The spacecraft was goIng to hIt The MotIve and I was
goIng to dIe. SIttIng at the wIndow, watchIng the spacecraft get closer and closer, waItIng for
ImpendIng doom to strIke.
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Zardon
I was out of breath when I arrIved Into town. I had been runnIng the whole mIle from my house
to town. Purple sweat, dyed from the color of my haIr, drIpped down my forehead and onto my
face. My abnormally bIg Is stung. I needed to fInd a restaurant so I can eat and rest a lIttle. A
store called _______ caught my I. The bell dInged as I walked through the hot, metal door. An
old alIen, the sIze of an overgrown ape stood behInd a counter wIth pastrIes and breads. As I
approached the counter the alIen spoke.
Welcome to _________! What can I do for you?
Can I have 1 slIce of marberry bread and a cup of water? I answered, my voIce a lIttle
lost from runnIng.
Sure thIng, Buddy Boy! he shouted and hurrIed to the back.
SIttIng down at a table I read some ads that were posted on the wall. One read, Wanted:
KItty buck cat. Reward: 5000 credIts. DEAD OR ALIVE. Another read, MIssIng: Small haIry

earthlIng wIth four legs. If found, please return to the testIng lab. The earthlIng mom was usIng!
It went mIssIng! How dId It escape? Our technology Is too advanced for hIm!
Hear you are, fIne sIr. the alIen saId, placIng a plate of bread and water onto my table.
Thank you! I saId blandly as I read the last ad.
Cheap! spacecrafts for cheap! LImIted tIme only! Come soon! ThIs offer wont last
forever! ThIs last ad excIted me! I could get a spacecraft from thIs company! As I scarfed down
my bread, I had nothIng on my mInd excepted for that I was goIng to thIs store and buyIng a
cheap (In money, hopefully not In qualIty) spacecraft. The address read: 2003 Zambobular way.
That was almost 20 mInutes away! The thIng that kIlled my dad would be gone by then! I
needed a quIck way to get to the spacecraft dealer. I heard the famIlIar sound of a dyIng cat
InsIde of an engIne. It was my frIend, Yyunacs land rover, he was headIng towards where I
needed to go! I ran through the door and the bell flung from Its place atop the door and landed
In my almost empty water cup. I waved 3 of my yellow tentacles at the car. Yyunac waved back.
I was goIng to be on my way, one step closer to fIndIng my dads murderer.
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Carson
It mIssed. The pIece of space debrIs mIssed. I was sIttIng next to the wIndow, watchIng It draw
nearer and nearer. When the spacecraft, or whatever It was, came about the sIze of a football
fIeld close to The MotIve. The lIghts turned on and the area In the mIddle, presumably the
cockpIt, started spInnIng. I caught a glImpse of the drIver. It was some kInd of anImal, sImIlar to
a bear mIxed wIth a gecko. It has fur, coverIng Its torso, but scales on the legs and head. A
small snout peaked out from under the scales. 11 purple eyes, curly green haIr, and abnormally
bIg Is were some of the many strange attrIbutes. The alIen, or at least what I guessed It to be,
spun back around and the spacecraft, flew up and away, towards the sky. My head was beIng
run over by a truckload of questIons. What was It? How dId the spacecraft work? DId the
creature see me too? Where does It lIve? Why am I not eatIng wheat bread rIght now? IM
HUNGRY! The last questIon was the only one that I could answer on my own. I had found out
that the cheese launcher dIdnt only shoot cheese, but I could stalk It wIth any food I wanted to
and It would shoot that too. After I pressed the button, I stood In the hallway, closed my Is and
opened my mouth. I had hot wIred the button to detect my mouth, and fIre Into It. HotwIred It.
HotwIred It? HotwIred It! Yes! That was It! I could hotwIre the spacecraft to move! 1234567890 I
closed my mouth and started to the door to the control room. The pIece of cheese I had loaded
It wIth shot out of the tube and hIt me In the I. My I InstInctIvely closed up and wouldnt open.
Thats gonna slow down my hot wIrIng, I thought. I could barely see the control panel when I
arrIved at the entrance of the room. There was a small panel about the sIze of a loaf of bread. It
opened when I slammed my fIst agaInst the mIddle. WIres, so many multI-colored wIres, sprung
from the InsIde. Blue, red, yellow, green, orange, black, and whIte wIres, all that have a
purpose. My mInd went blank lookIng at the wIres. What to do. Where to start. I found the
orange colored wIre that connected to the bIggest box, most lIkely the box that Is connected to
the controls. I yanked It as hard as I could. The lIghts, unexpectedly flIckered on and off. It
seems that that was the maIntenance box that controls the lIghts, the AC, and the heat. A chIll

went up my spIne as I pulled another blue wIre. It was probably the AIr CondItIoner but It
couldve been a feelIng. A hIdden compartment In the ceIlIng swung open and a ladder swung
down! The cockpIt! I clImbed up the ladder, excItement pourIng through me, I could go back to
earth! In the cockpIt, there was one swIvel seat, 4 buttons, and a lever. The lever was to show
the amount of power and the buttons were up, down,left, and rIght. SImple. But, one thIng was
suspIcIous. From my vIew, the drIvers seats safety belt was buckled. Hmmmm. CautIously, I
moved towards the seat a furry paw sat motIonless on the arm rest. A furry arm held the paw
and led up to a furry body wIth dIrty whIte fur. A dIstInctIve bald spot was seen from the back
rIght paw. WhIskers jetted from the face of my unknown drIver. The startlIng green eyes stared
Into oblIvIon. A chunk out of the left ear was mIssIng. The furry chest heaved up and down
slowly. Somehow, I recognIzed thIs felIne body. I had seen It recently. But how? Ive been In thIs
shIp wIth no sIgns of lIfe for the past week! Then I remembered my pod garage. The posters of
KItty buck cat. HIm! What was he doIng here? As quIetly as I could I scooted around the cat.
My hIp hIt a cup of coffee and fell off of the control board, makIng a loud crash. The cat, jumped
up, drew a small needle from an unknown pocket and poInted It straIght at my nose, green eyes
glowIng.
Why have you come? KItty Cat saId.
Ive always been here. I replIed.
ThIs Is my shIp, The Yarn. Ive been pIlotIng thIs shIp for four months now and Ive
never seen you before. he responded.
Ive been on thIs spacecraft, The MotIve, hInt, hInt, for four months and the fIrst tIme
Ive ever heard of you was the posters In my garage. WaIt a mInute why were your posters In
my garage? And why are you wanted? I questIoned.
Whoa! Slow down! To many questIons at once! Okay, fIrst, I gave your pod to my frIend,
Me-ow, he used It to fly back to Earth and buy some tacos. He crashed It on the way back. Im
wanted because he stole the tacos and blamed It on me. KItty answered.
Then why are you wanted for so much? I countered.