Love Poem- Eli Mallouhi

Every moment without you I dread

I can’t seem to get you out of my head

Our love is all around

Through each and every sound

The love between us two

Will always be true

Our love is forever

I won’t stop, no it won’t stop ever

Love Poem - Joey Pallath

A question of our future times,

To ignore it would be the worst of crimes,

The desire to do so was irresistible,

A feeling among the abnormal.

The sole inspiration of my new life.

A coincidence that brought our adjoining fate.

After months and months of the inner strife,

To ask to become my wife, of you, my soul mate.

Love Poem by Liam Moynagh

Plato wrote of man's neverending quest

to find the half that suits him best.

So I say with all the certainty I can muster,

you and I must have been torn asunder.

Our lives have been spent in search of the other,

we are two pieces made by the same puzzler;

two halves, meant to be one together,

it is you that I will love forever.

No other can offer me that which you do

your love i will forever pursue.

I may be no wordsmith or playwright,

no Shakespeare, no Marlowe, nor Chaucer,

yet i hope this stirs you more than a Midsummer's Night

for without you I am but a poor pauper.

For all that you are

I hope all but one thing

whether I be near or be far

happiness thoughts of me may bring

Love Poem By Andrew B.

As time goes by

without you i feel I'll die,

because once you came in

it felt as if my life was freed from sin

and with all that I've known

I known i can't be alone.

If i have to live my life without you

I'll have no life left to pursue.

So please don't go, but stay.

Our lives will open like an airway,

to the sky, and be there with no regret

and watch forever our one sun set.

Love Poem - Tyler Lotz

My heart pumps along with your bass

My fist is pumping through this place

Your rhythm makes my foot tap

It guides my heart as if map

The lyrics allow me to let go

The soft vocals keep me secure

And act like a hero

My love for you is pure

Love Poem by Jake B.

Today I thought of something serene,

And before long I was beginning to dream,

About the one i truly care for,

I could never love anyone more.

To me she seems amazing,

Yet others disagree,

But i see them all constantly gazing,

Full of obvious jealousy.

She is so perfect; an angel to behold,

Her hair is always shiny, and her mood is never cold.

When we are together everything feels right,

And when we kiss i feel as if i'm soaring like a kite.

We have a plan to both run away and elope out near the coast,

Her and I, we've found such love, i really don't mean to boast.

But as our love progresses and continuously unfurls,

I find that I love this girl more than anything in the world.

Love Poem by Will Palmeri

It's funny how at the age of three,

you would not even glance at me.

But now we've matured, our hearts and our minds.

We are connected, when we look through each other's eyes.

Although it is sudden and all so fast,

there is something I must say to thee:

I hope this love will always last,

for now and for eternity.

Love Poem by Nick Manzo

Words can't express what you mean to me

Because I know that we are meant to be

You're the kind of girl I want to see more of

The kind that can make me fall in love

You are my angel down the road.

I'll be loyal to you for the rest of my life

You make me feel warm in bitter the cold.

And that's why you are going to be my wife

Love Poem by Ryan O.

My love for you is the best,

about it I don't like to jest,

only time can tell,

I hope I never say farewell.

As long as the sky is blue,

your love is my main concern,

and all I want from you,

is your love in return.

Love Poem by Nick DiScola

Every time I see your face,

I feel my heart race.

You turn my life into slow motion;

When I'm with you I must take caution.

You make me feel so good inside

I would travel worldwide

for your love. I'd do anything for you,

my true love.

Love poem: by Hacik Arslanoglu

You are so beautiful

And always so cheerful

You know what is right

Because you’re so bright

I know you miss me

Because I miss you

So come and kiss me

So we can breakthrough

Love Poem by Kevin Leithauser

There are not many things i love in life

If i could i'd make you my wife

You are the one that i love so much

I wish i could take you to my brunch

Im always so happy when your near

When you talk to me, your all i want to hear

The way you taste makes me sick

We can play games with you, ill show you a trick

I feel at one when im with you

You look so bright and clear

When your gone i feel so blue

And there is nothing that i fear

When i show you to my crew

They let out a big cheer!

Love Poem by Tim C.

Forever I seek to find you

Your eyes a beautiful shade of blue

Your smiles shines like the sun

Days with you are filled with fun

I try for life

To make you mine

Through constant strife

We will be fine.

Love Poem By Hunter Kiselick

Green eyes of thine

Oh I wish they were mine

Your hair is so fair

Oh should I dare ;)

My love for you has a special hue

It’s a certain color

Maybe blue?

Blue like my mood when you’re not near

You’re so beautiful

Please just call me your dear

Love Poem by John Scollo

The song of birds does fill the air

As flowers blossom full and fair

A gentle tickle comes without

My wife I love: there is no doubt.

Her smile spreads across her face

And quickly fills the whole of space.

Two days have gone without regret

My love has snared me in a net

I know that time may make it tough

But we will love, through smooth and rough.

Love Poem - Christopher Chi

My lover gives the world a pure white sheet,
Keeping me away from the classroom seat.

She gives the sky a purple hue,
her appearance is more peaceful than the morning dew.

Her image remains constant in my mind,

Moving gracefully through the sky.
Shes the only one I try to find,
I say this without a lie.

The Giants Defense by Owen MacNeill

You try always to finish first

and have never been the absolute worst

Your roster is always great

the hard hits you bring are a known trait

You beat the best team

Ever to play the game

they almost finished their perfect scheme

but lost to the American dream

Love Poem By Michael Sutherland

Your green and attractive exterior

Bounding black and grey suede interior

You have become my partner in life

Through hatred and strife

We enjoy your precious Bose

Every time we ignite

My love for you grows

In daylight and night

Love Poem by Phillip Yoon

Fallen from the sky at springtime

Glistening in sunlight while in its prime

Your visual effect be timeless

Love for you I hope be endless

The glaring lights from your eyes

Pierce through others with a beam of light

Surpassing others without compromise

Your demeanor gleaming bright

Love Poem by Ryan Finkel

My love will do anything for me

Whether it's to press or clean

The feelings I have for her are immense

I can only hope that hers are as intense

Her physique is rather golden

And her demeanor intimidates me

She makes my pecs and biceps swollen

Thank goodness for L-Glutamine

The Empty Future by Bobby Lynch

The Empty Future

After traveling to the future, I was surprised by what I saw. Expecting to see many ornate and elaborate structures, the vast nothingness shocked me. Off in the distance, across a large empty field, I saw a small building. As I began to walk across the field towards the building, a small aircraft soared above my head without making a sound. Within an instant it arrived at the building and, seemingly without stopping, stopped in front of the building, dropped a group of people off, and raced off into the empty backdrop behind the building. Now, even more curious as to what this building was, I quickened my pace and headed towards the structure.

As I drew closer to the building and began to examine it I felt as if it were missing something. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until suddenly it hit me: the building did not have any windows. It was just a bare, gray, rectangular building, which seemed to be made out of a concrete-like material. I noticed how bare and boring it looked. The only part of the building contrasting with the lifeless body was the small glass door in the front. Looking through the glass, I could see a counter, behind which a woman wearing a white jacket was standing. A long line of people streched in front of the counter, and some others were sitting in white leather couches on the sides of the room. I was puzzled as to what this could be.

Upon opening the door and entering the room, I immediately noticed a feeling of dullness, almost as though the room lacked life. By the time I entered the room, there were only about three people left waiting on line, and the rest had joined the people on the side couches. I, to be inconspicuous, stood on the side near the couches and watched the people on line. Without the woman behind the desk saying a word the person on line would say some kind of odd name, and the woman would hit a few buttons on a computer. Then, within a few seconds, a bottle would come down a tube behind her. She would hand the bottle to the person in line, still without saying a word. The person would then go sit on a couch and wait. After a while, I inferred that this was some kind of pharmacy, and that the names the people were saying were the names of their medications. However, I could not be sure, and was too scared to ask, as I had yet to hear another person speak.

The entire process moved remarkably fast. Within a minute of me being in the room, everyone had been given their bottle. Almost immediately after the last person had been served, I heard horn from outside, almost like a car horn. Everyone stood up and walked out the door. Not knowing what was going on, I followed suit. Outside a large aircraft was on the ground in front of the building, with a door open on its side. Everyone piled into the aircraft, in which the driver pointed to a seat, signaling a person to sit there. Again, not a word was spoken by anybody. After every person had been seated, the aircraft rose high into the sky, and rocketed away.

Sitting in the aircraft, I realized what was going on. The future had become such a systemic and efficient society that there was little need for communication. Everything had been done so fast and easily that people felt no inclination to speak to one another. The only words that were at all were between mothers and their children, or people who were clearly together. Even these conversations were quick and unanimated. I thought to myself that what these people considered convenient, to me actually seemed like a society that had sucked the joy and spontaneity out of life. I awaited the end of the trip in the aircraft, hoping that at our destination, whatever that may have been, I would find that my theory was wrong.

A Different Emerson, New Jersey

Dear Shane,
The date is June 17 and I have just arrived in our home town of Emerson, New Jersey. It’s a little more complicated than that though. By using the time machine that I have created I have traveled back in time to the year 1876! The view around here is so much different. There is less grass, less big buildings, and less people roaming the streets. It is quite strange compared to our town in the year 2010. Even the people that I scarcely see look different. They are dressed extremely different. Their clothes are a little bit dirty and old looking. Everyone is always wearing long clothing all the time as well no matter how hot it is! It’s quite strange I feel like such an outcast.
June 21, 1876. I have been here a few days and things are pretty weird. I made a new friend already named Lance. He is pretty cool. He’s tall and enjoys sports just as I do. However they don’t have all the sports that we do like basketball and football. The only sports that they have are soccer, with different rules that aren’t as advanced as ours, and running. They love to run and race. I actually met him by beating him in a race that he challenged me too. We are going tonight to the local hang out place to meet some of his friends and have a good time.
June 22, 1876. Wow. Last night was… for lack of a better word interesting. There was drama left and right! One guy got into a fight with his girlfriend. The owner of the restaurant got into an argument with one of the workers. Lance and his best friend almost got into a fight. But most strangely of all, I got into a fight with someone, and I don’t even know him! It’s a long story and I don’t have time tonight it’s getting very late so I will explain tomorrow.
June 23, 1876. Nothing eventful happened today but I still have to tell you about what happened last night. So there was this guy Randy and he did not know who I was, obviously since I’m not from this time period, so he asked me my name. I told him my name was Eli and he asked me where I was from. I was about to say Emerson, New Jersey like usual but I remembered that I was in the past. So I hesitated and made up a city name. I can’t even remember what I said it was something out of the blue but he could tell something was fishy about me. So later in the night I don’t know why but he came up to me and started yelling at me and accusing me of being a criminal! I had no idea what to say so I just denied it. He got mad at me and started pushing me! I didn’t fight back because I did not want to start anything, especially because I’m not from around here so if I got in trouble, I’d be in very bad shape. Lucky for me Lance saved me by saying I was with him. It was very scary and got me extremely worried.
June 26, 1876. It is my birthday today! I am coming home today. I had fun here the past 10 days but it’s time to go back. I wish I could visit again but my time machine is broken. OH WAIT. I just remembered it’s broken and I haven’t fixed it yet… how do I get back???? I’m panicking I don’t know what to do. I need to go look at it to see if I can fix it.
Later that day, I figured it out! However I can’t get home yet… I need to find the last piece needed in order to get my time machine working. I need some pieces of wood so that I can turn my machine on! But I don’t have any so I have to go try and find some wood. Wish me luck… I’m going to need it.

My Life on Another World

Dear anyone out there,
I have awakened to find myself in a weird situation. I used to live on 758 Palisades Avenue Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. I worked for a company by the name of Panasonic, a television company. Now I am living at 92 Glenwood Avenue Arsoli, fourth moon of Saturn. I assume that I am unemployed but I cannot be too sure. This world is very strange. The people are different, the appliances are peculiar and the setting is unusual.
The last thing that I remember, I was about to go to bed. I just woke up now and I am in a different world. It looks like I traveled two hundred years into the future. There are many televisions that don’t look normal. The entire room is filled with this one television set. I looked out the window and there are many hovercrafts floating around and look like they are being used as cars were in my time.
There is a lot more technology that is being used in this world and I don’t know how to work any of it. I entered into this kitchen and there are many appliances such as microwaves and refrigerators that look so much more high-tech than that of my world. All people have to do to make a microwave work is hit which type of food they entered in it and it automatically heats it up depending on the food. This world is so much more different than what I am used to.
The people in this world are very fat compared to the people in my world. I assume that because of the technology being used by these people, it has caused them to become fat or even obese because of this. Maybe technology is not as good as most of society thinks it to be. If I ever get back to my world, I have to inform Panasonic what I have seen in the future to avoid society to become like this.
If there is anyone out there, I need help. I have heard many loud noises upstairs so I will be walking up there now. Hopefully it is nothing serious but who knows. I provided my address in the beginning so if you know where I am, I would appreciate it if you could help me. Please write back soon before I lose my mind.
P.S. If you could tell me how these various appliances work, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Brian Hund

A Whole Sea of Problems by Will P.

Troubling thoughts filled my head. My brain had reached its limit; I was filled to the brim with stressful thoughts about my so called “acquaintance”. If only he hadn’t erupted in anger and broken into a furious fist fight, maybe there would still be a chance we could still be friends, but certainly not after that display. It puzzled me, however, that of all the things I could be worrying about, I was worrying about this stupid kid. Why did it bother me so much? That I did not know. But what I did know was what my exhausted body needed, and that was sleep, and lots of it. Nothing was going to stop me from going to bed early tonight, not even my once good friend Maximilian.

I laid myself down in my bed. I remained face up for a while, turned here and there, but my thoughts were keeping me awake. It was like an alarm in my brain was going off and I couldn’t find the “off” button. A quick two hours rolled by, and I was losing shut eye. Finally, I thought to myself, “What a silly thing to be worrying about. We were never that good of friends anyway. I would be better off if Maximilian and I never had to talk to each other again.” Soon afterward, I was sound asleep, and felt the most content I had felt in quite a while. I slept for a while; it felt like an eternity.

I later slowly arose. However, something felt different about my bed. The warm sheets that I had so comfortably climbed into were now gone. I reached for them below my feet, and there was nothing. I quickly rubbed my eyes, trying to fix them on my bright red alarm clock on my dresser. It wasn’t there. I felt a calm light shine down on my face, but I could not force my body upward to observe what it was. Something was definitely wrong, because along with my stresses of daily life, my strength had seemed to drift away. Struggling and pushing with all my might, I tried forcing myself out of this odd trance. My efforts were futile, and I shortly fell asleep, my confused mind becoming a hostage of my own tired body.

A strong light awoke me with its piercing beams of heat. I lifted my arm to my eyes and my forehead so that I could block the sun from face. Feeling the weakness and fatigue of my arm alone, I knew something was wrong. Finally, I was able to clearly see where I was and what was going on. I looked upon in horror the small, inflatable raft I had had been sleeping in. As startled as I was, I did not move. I sat there, motionless, letting my brain absorb the circumstances that surrounded me. I then glanced down to my right, then my left, noticing two guys that had also been occupying this same raft for the night. I did not know these men, and looking down at their stationary bodies, I first assumed they were in a deep sleep. However, after studying them more carefully, I noticed that their chest did not move up and down slightly like that of a human when he/she is breathing. Hastily checking their pulse, I discovered that they were both dead.

The thought of two dead men lying motionless beside me scared me. I was unsure of what to do, looking around helplessly for some sort of answer. It was then that I noticed a third man on the raft. He looked familiar, but the glare of the hot sun on the water prevented me from seeing who it was. I forced myself upward and carefully crawled around the dead men, each movement I made becoming harder and harder due to the combined swaying of the raft on the water and the weariness of my body. When I approached the person, he was laying face down. Checking his pulse, I indicated that he was alive, but definitely unconscious. I gently turned his body over, being careful not to cause anymore problems. After studying his face, my heart seemed to feel mixed feelings of relief and anger. For the man who I had just identified was Maximilian, the same kid I had just recently swore to never talk to again.

Aftermath 3210 by Owen MacNeill

Aftermath 3210

When I had stepped outside of the time machine I found myself in a strange place that I have never seen before. The ground was covered in ash and the sky was almost red with kicked up dirt and soot. The only other life I could see was the small bugs that scattered throughout ruins of small objects and other animals. I didn’t know that when I put Hackensack year 3210 into the time machine that I would end up in a nuclear wasteland. There was nothing in site but broken down buildings and the occasional rat scurried across the ground. I had to move and find some other people in this area.

`Everywhere I looked there were ruins of buildings that once stood higher than many buildings in the world and it was easy to tell that this place was once a bustling business center. There were banks and financial centers blown apart, exposing their safes surrounded by iron bars and large dials. The road had even worn away and the asphalt that I was walking upon would crack and crumble under the lightest steps; whatever happened here completely obliterated everything that had once stood here. Even the animals that I saw were strange looking. Some had three eyes, others were missing limbs, and some were even fused together at different joints.

As I was walking down the street looking for some sign of human inhabitants I noticed a small cave like structure made from pieces of fallen stone from an old building. Upon entering the cave I found about a dozen people all starved and tired who looked at me with big watery eyes. Seeing this I knew that whatever happened to Hackensack had happened recently because these people were still wearing tattered suits and blouses with their dress shoes for work. They told me that the United States angered their long standing North Korean rivals and nuclear war broke out throughout the world. Pyong-Yang was the first city to be hit and was destroyed within days of the first strikes. The next city to be attacked was Washington D.C. and the surrounding area including New Jersey. From what the survivors could tell me I figured out that other parts of the country were still intact and running but almost all of New Jersey and New York was completely decimated.

There anguish was overwhelming and it was easy to tell that they wanted was a home to go to. I decided that I could not go back to my time without first helping these people. I gave them all the water that I brought and every freeze dried meal in my backpack along with a map so that they could navigate their way across the country to the hopefully still intact Mid-West. They were very thankful and made sure that I warn the people of the past of what could happen in the future if they aren’t careful of how they treat International Relations.

As I watched them start heading east I could only think of how my life would change when I travel back in time. I would do everything in my power to stop the fighting between nations. To mend relations in the Middle East, to settle North Korea and to calm the United States so what I saw in the future can never happen. No one should have to live through the pain that these people had experienced in a little over a month. Their lives were ruined by the actions of the people of my time and everything I can do to reverse that outcome I will.

Trapped in the Future by Nick M.

It was my first day on the new job. I had just been hired by this research firm and electronic lab. I had completed my internship at another firm owned by this company that was located just across the street. Yet this was my first day at the main building, I could not keep the excitement in me. It was going so well, and I was enjoying every part of it. Then, right after my lunch break, everything changed drastically, and for the worse. I was running a little late after lunch and there was somewhere I had to be at 1 o’clock sharp. Not wanting to be late to something on my first day, I hustled down the hallways to get where I needed to go. In this one hallway, there were wet floor signs that I did not happen to see. After running a little bit, I entered this hallway and immediately stumbled. Trying to keep my balance, I stumbled on into an adjacent room. I continued to stumble in the room until I fell completely. I landed in this odd circular pod mechanism. As soon as I landed, the door to this pod slammed shut and the machine began clicking. Eventually it zapped me with an unknown laser beam and unconscious I went.

I was horrified to see what I had awoken to. Although it felt as if I was out for maybe ten minutes, I apparently had been unconscious for about a thousand years! I saw a calendar in the building I had awoken in. It read that today’s date was June 1^st, 3000. I then left the building, and then the real horrific sights began. I originally had worked in Newark, New Jersey. When I looked at a billboard outside, it said I was in Old Newark, in the state of Newer New Jersey. This startling aspect was the least frightening of the sights. The creatures and life forms on this future planet were amazing. The humans were the majority, but the variations of creatures were ridiculous. There were robots of all shapes and sizes on every corner. Some big, some small, some with flashing lights some looked ready to break down. This new world was inhabited by living interacting robots, something unheard of in my time. There were also a rather large number of extraterrestrial beings, most of which I could not particularly identify. All of these multiple forms or life, both natural earthly creatures and man made machines, were quite astonishing. This new set of beings was hard to grasp, and fully accept as real.

The new methods of transportation of the future are also quite different. For starters, there are no longer cars that move on the land. The form of cars of the future is hover cars, and the future’s equivalent of trucks is space ships. There is public transportation in the future too. It is a system of tubes where a person steps into the tube, states their destination, and is transported through the system of tubes to the selected place. The systems of tubes, I have heard, run all over the world. And they are the cheapest method of transportation. This method is also one of the fastest, as the tubes travel at almost light speed. The transportation was weird but easy to get used to, as it was so efficient compared to my time. This was the first thing I liked a lot about the future.

I had one major dilemma at hand. I had no clue how to get home. I tried to re-enter the pod but it was broken down for repair. I wandered around searching for another time machine but I had no luck. I found may labs where they would freeze a person and that person would wake up in the future. There was no way home. I was stuck in this crazy future and I didn’t know what to do. I began trying to calm myself, and take in exactly what is happening, because I still had not fully accepted my fate, that I have now become trapped in the future. I had been asking for people for directions to other laboratories and help and other things since I arrived, and it seemed like I was going to be stuck here for awhile. Nobody understood my story, and most never even heard of the freezing pods that I had been trapped in. I was too scared to ask the mutants or robots for help, as they could very well hurt me. Hope was fading fast for a quick return home.

It was apparent I was in serious trouble. I have been looking desperately for a way home for hours, and to no avail. There seems to be no way to get home. I might be stuck in the year 3000 forever. I have to continue to look for more ways out. Will I ever get home? Or is my new life here, in the future, the new world. At this point, all I can do is wonder what the future has in store for me………

Survivors

Day 4

At first, it was just another day after the earthquake. We were quickly running out of rations as the day went on. By afternoon, however, we felt another tremor in the grounds. It seemed like déjà vu with the panic arising from all of the people stuck in the sewers with us. This second tremor brought instant flashbacks of the earthquake that had collapsed our office building, and the floor below, sinking everything down into the sewage system. There was still no word of whether there was a search for us, or whether we were already pronounced dead. We didn't see any leftover signs of movement from the remains of our crumbled building, making it seem like the five us were the sole survivors.

Just as we ran out of food, the tremor came back. This time it was stronger than before, and started shaking the floor under us. I was alone, inspecting the remains of our building for any further signs of life when it happened. The entire ground beneath the remains tore apart from the tremor, and threw me, along with the wreckage, into depths below the sewage system. I don’t remember what happened next, I think I had been knocked out.

The next thing I remembered was waking up to a man I had not recognized. He was carrying me away from the building, and I was in too much stress and pain to dispute it. He was not talking at first, but once he noticed I was awake, he started mumbling something. I couldn't quite catch what he had said, but it seemed to have a reassuring tone. After about twenty minutes, I began to regain control of my senses.

Once I could once again see clearly, I observed my environment. I seemed to be approaching what looked like an everyday house, except one built of metal. The house drew closer as I was carried by the man. Once inside, we were met by a group of people just like the man there. They began to talk to me, and from what I gathered, they had all been put through situations like me: Sole survivors in difficult environments that led them to this unknown place, forgotten by the society above.

This news of similar stories brought about both reassurance and depression. It would mean that I was safe, down in the depths with what seemed like a very friendly environment filled with hospitality, but would also lead me to being considered completely missing and thought to have disappeared or died in the eyes of the society that I was once a part of. All I could hope for was another chance to return to my original home, to the life I had lost, in the days to come.

Oradell by Nick D

Oradell, New Jersey
1650
The British Colonists just recently settled around a reservoir. I was part of the first colonists to explore and settle this reservoir. We named our settlement Oradell, in reference to the many different ores and rocks we found along the banks of the reservoir and the small wooded valley surrounding the reservoir. We left our last settlement due to food shortages and disease; relative to where we came from, this is a paradise.
We built many small houses on the bank of one side of the reservoir surrounded by a wall of pointed trees. The trees we cleared away were the same ones we used to build the houses and the wall. The wall resembled a picket fence, just much taller. The pickets of the fence would be abreast to each other as oppose to being separated and connected by the fence itself. We built the wall in response to the many problems with the Indians our fellow settlers in the south were experiencing. We certainly never had any problems, but with the supply of food we found in the reservoir, the wall also kept out thieves from the settlement which we came from. The small houses we built were also made of wood and pasted together so as to not let in drafts for the upcoming winter. We used leaves and wood planks to build an insulating roof on each house. I came up with the idea to use water from the reservoir to dampen the paste used to glue the wood logs together on the houses.
The reservoir must have once been part of the Garden of Eden because it is absolutely magnificent. It is shaped like an ellipse, where the east and west banks are much closer than the north and south banks. The water flows from north to south. We are situated on the east bank. There is an island situated almost in the direct center of the reservoir that is filled with trees. The dell surrounds the reservoir on all sides, and at some places is so thick that you could hardly see through. Sometimes we see the Indian fires on the west bank, but we have yet to see or hear any Indians themselves. There seems to be an endless supply of fish in the reservoir, so much so that sometimes it seems that the fish are practically overflowing onto the shore. There are very few natural predators in the area and the land we settled has a good flat area for farming. We had to chop down many trees in order to clear this land, but it has all been used in either making the wall and houses or being saved to be burned in the winter.
The Indians have recently been getting closer to our settlement. The first couple of weeks there would only be one fire on the far west bank, about half a mile away, and only about once a week. Then it started occurring much more often. Three, four, five, sometimes even six times a week we would see the smoke. Then it slowly started crawling up and down the north and south bank. Each night more fires would get lit. It has grown to the point where now we can see twenty different fires burning every night up and down the entirety of the west bank. We don’t know what the Indians are planning, but we have heard reports of them taking hostages in exchange for money and land. We fear for our lives every night. Maybe this reservoir didn’t come from Eden; maybe it came from Hell.

Vietnam: A Ranger's Story by Liam Moynagh

I sat in the helicopter on the way back to camp, listening to the sound of the rotors spinning in an endless effort to keep this heap of metal flying. Unlike the ride to the LZ, no one spoke during this trip. We were no longer innocent, no longer naïve as to the ways of the world; that had been stolen from us in just six short months. I looked up at Roscoe, his usually jovial face told what no of us were saying. Just by looking at his face, anyone could see that we were no longer human, but something much, much worse. The silence was killing me; inside all I wanted to do was to scream, punch, kick, bite, anything to let out what we had just been through. I just wanted to let out the tiger that was no caged inside my body, but now I knew it was better to cage the tiger than to let it out, because once out, it controlled me. I looked out the copters door, just watching as Vietnam flew by underneath me. My frustration and shame were dueling inside me, fighting each other viciously to try and gain control of me. Seeing as I had nothing better to do, I decided to reflect; to think about what we had just been put through for the sake of bringing democracy to this god-forsaken land.

In boot camp they had said that they wanted to turn us into machines of war. We were the “game–changers” as Captain Tuck had said. It was on us to be sent into the worst of the worst, and make it better for the rest to follow. Now, as trainees we had all though that the notion of being the best of the best, the secret weapon, the ace up the sleeve was the greatest thing ever. When the clock struck 2100, lights out, we all lay in our beds and dreamt of a glorious battlefield where we would easily conquer our enemies for the glory of our nation. Oh, to be young and naïve. We had no idea what Cap’n had really meant when he said that we were going to be sent into the worst part of Hell, and were expected to come out the other side with the Devil’s head in our hands and Hell freezing over behind us, but we found out soon enough.

When we had arrived in Vietnam, we were kept in a secret location, told that we were to only speak amongst ourselves and were rarely allowed leave to go into town for some cheap liquor and cheap women. They wanted their Rangers focused, and focused we were. While the rest of the Army and the Marines were at night clubs, gambling, or spending the night with a prostitute, we worked. We worked harder than we had worked in training camp, and told that this was just the beginning. I’ll never forget the exact moment our lives changed, never to be the same again.

It was 0406, the exact time that I was to be changed beyond recognition. The sirens went off in the base camp and all I can remember is rushing. Rushing to get dressed, rushing to get my weapon, rushing to the helicopter; for those fateful nine minutes, we were the fastest people alive. At 0414 we boarded the helicopter and at 0415 we were leaving the base which was evidently being attacked by a very small group of rebels. There were four other Rangers from my squad in the helicopter with me, and a colonel. He briefed us on our mission; we were being attacked by a small faction of Vietcong, and it was suspected that this strike on our base was a diversion for the movement of a large amount of weapons. We learned where we were to go, what we were to do, and when we were to do it. Colonel Goff told us there was no room for error, and that this was not training and any mistake would result in the loss of life, possibly even the loss of the war.

We arrived at the LZ at 0930, and we met up with the two other squads also sent to carry out this mission. We went over the mission details one more time and then began our march to where the weapons drop–off was supposed to happen. As we were marching, Roscoe Parrish was bragging about how many he planned on killing and about how we’d all owe our lives to him when he saved us when, much to everyone’s surprise, he actually did save us; well most of us. He noticed a thin wire at our feet and screamed “Freeze!” We were all frozen, everyone except for Charlie Woodson. Woodson couldn't keep his balance and his foot fell; right on the wire. I didn't even see the explosion, I just heard and felt it. Woodson had taken the majority of the blast but Clay Matthews knee was punctured by some shrapnel and Parrish was now deaf in his right ear. The jungle had turned from a buzzing and lively place into a dark, deathly silent forest of hidden dangers. We went to sleep that night hoping that would be our last loss; it wasn't.

The Forest of a New Planet - Christopher Chi

June 20 2220

Just landing on a foreign planet far away from Earth, I cautiously took a step outside and took in all the strange and new scenery. Earth is now destroyed from the massive nuclear war that broke out. I made a narrow escape by running towards the space pods once I heard about the nuclear missiles being launched over a dispute that lead to hostility. The planet I am on resembles Earth in many aspects. In my first glimpses of the new land I could see water and a wide terrain of trees and grass. Also the sky is a bright orange with the sight of 2 suns shining in the back ground. I haven’t gotten much rest from the voyage over here because I am very claustrophobic and being in a tight space pod did not help. In order to prepare for the bizarre creatures and plants I may find, I began to set up a spot near my space pod to sleep.

June 21, 2220

I woke up to the loud calls of some creature. Its voice shrilled throughout the lands. I haven’t felt this terrified in my life. Wondering what may lie behind those trees outlining the edge of the forest, I thought about animals that are the size of 3 story buildings and a group of hostile natives. Having promised myself that I would begin my search for life, I gather my courage and set forth into the forest full of mysteriously new plants. My primary objective is to gather wood to fuel a fire and also to find other life forms. Fire was needed in order to keep warm during the nights. Although the planet had 2 suns, during the night the planet would drop from a comfortable temperature to a below freezing state. I walked around through the forest looking at these various plants that seemed to be oozing with juice. A large drop of orange ooze dropped on my hand. I took a sniff of it and it smelled like mangoes. So I took a lick at the ooze and it tasted delicious. Its taste seemed so familiar but there were no word to represent it’s certain characteristics. Although my mission to find another life form wasn’t complete I have found wood and food that will last for the next 4-6 meals. Feeling contempt, I walked back to my camp and fell asleep.

June 22, 2220

Today I decided to dedicate my time searching for life on this planet. I wanted to find that creature that made a loud shrill the other morning. Although it has terrified me, I had a feeling of curiosity to know what I am against on this new world. In the very peak of the morning where the light started to peak onto the land, I went to a tree like plant and cut a piece of its limb off with a knife I have brought. This limb seems to be as strong as an oak tree. I carved it to a long point. I carried this spear into the forest. I also carried some ooze with me to drink during my breaks. As I walked through the forest I could hear rustles of leaves in the far distance. I stopped in my footsteps and listened. I could hear a distant rustle once again and decided to follow it. I approached the sound with cautious steps. I soon saw a figure and yelled out to it. The figure turned around and stared at me. In return I stared at it with deep curiosity. Approaching the new life form slowly, I reached out my hands, which suddenly triggered the creature to run away. I cannot believe that I have seen another life form. However, it was clearly different in many characteristics. It had ears on top of its head and eyes that glowed like a cat. It had long legs and long arms. This creature was strong with its muscles being well toned. I went back to my space pod feeling accomplished after finishing my goal of finding another life form. Once I reached back to my pod I made a bed of soft cotton like leaves and began to sleep.

June 23, 2220

I woke up to tiger like creatures nearby my space pod. This animal was at the very least 4 times bigger than I was. It was on all fours sniffing the ground. I worried thinking that it was my scent that it smelled because I was a foreigner to this planet. However, it was following a trail to its victim. A creature that was three times bigger. However, this tiger like creature leaped on to its victim and clawed at its back viciously. I watched in terror for this big creature compared to me took on a creature that was three times its size. I ran back into the space pod and hid inside there. Being afraid that I would get eaten by this large dangerous creature, I stayed inside the pod until the coast was clear. When I finally step outside, I found the ooze I collected all eaten up. This was horrible because it was becoming dark real soon. I needed food but I could not go into the forest without light. So I had to tough it out for the night.

June 24, 2220

During the fresh rays of the light from the sun of the planet, I woke up. I began to get ready to head back into the forest to gather food and perhaps learn more about these life forms I had recently met. I packed my knife and spear and went into the forest. The first moment I saw a plant oozing with orange ooze I fell to my knees and ate it all. I was hungry to the point of starvation not only from a skipped meal but also because of the deep sensation of being scared. I walked a long time in the forest gathering food but also keeping a keen eye for another creature. As I picked up some more ooze I rose up and met eye to eye of the creature that ran away from me the day before. I raised my hand to show that I mean no harm. It had friends behind it and they had weapons that I do not even know of. The new life forms pointed their spears and arrows at me. Feeling the deep sensation in my mind that I was going to die, I stood there still hoping that it will end quickly. However, they wanted me to follow them. Having no other choice, I obeyed and followed their lead. They brought me to a vast civilization and imprisoned me. There was a variety of food on the table presented before me. These creatures were very cautious. I am writing this final passage not knowing what will happen tomorrow. I am sitting here writing in my diary, while these life forms pass by my prison staring at me as if I was a new circus freak. These new creatures have brought me into their village and locked me in this shelter. I have no other option but to sleep and wait. With my eyes drooping in drowsiness, I end this diary entry hoping this will not be my last, but we shall see what fate brings me tomorrow…