Amelia Weilu Ding, 11Shanghai, China The Chase Amelia Weilu Ding, 11 Another day, another close escape. For the past five months I’ve been tracked, followed, and nearly killed on more than a couple instances. Who is after me and why, you ask? This guy is the most relentless killer I have ever encountered: first name Alco last name Hol. And the thing about him is… he’s everywhere! He has what seems like more than a million brothers and sisters who are always after me. This is why I am all sweaty when I get back home. What I see every day when I go out are beds, people with all white clothes on or people with scrubs, masks, and gloves!!! They sure look scary; will they harm me? Yes, definitely. “Knock knock” Somebody’s at the door. AHHHHHHHHH! It’s Alco!!!! He reeks of a harsh astringent smell, a smell that all the viruses in my family fear. If he touches or scrubs me, it’s game over. Another day, another chase. I am really tired; I have been running at least 20 hours every day for the past five months! Who am I after? She’s a murderer, my sister told me her name is Cora Na Virus. Such a weird name, right? It’s too hard to just chase her by myself, she really is a fast one. She travels past at least 1,000 people every day. I am those people’s hero, so I must do my job. One Hol isn’t enough, then ten! I call on five sisters and four brothers to come with me for the chase. I am now outside Cora’s door, time for action! They had both come as far as they could go. Each too exhausted to chase or flee the other. They both mutually agreed it was time. And so, the standoff began. “It’s been a long time coming Alco!”, Cora shouted. You’ve already killed 386,091 members of my family! How much more do you want?! Can’t we just talk it out?” Alco felt bad for doing this, but he remembered again, “She is a murderer…I need to do my job.” He suddenly reached for Cora. Alco managed to grab her by the arm and swung her around. Cora couldn’t help but yelp at his touch. She felt like her entire body was being lit on fire, but she knew she couldn’t give up. She swiftly kicked Alco’s hands and face. Shocked at how strong Cora was, Alco immediately backed away. He had underestimated her. She wasn’t anything like the other viruses he remembered encountering. She was stronger and faster. Had she evolved? He was furious when the realization crashed down on him like a meteor. “You can go this time Cora Na Virus, but watch out! Next time, my cousins Sanitizer and Vaccine will come and back me up! You are not going to have a good ending!” As he stomped out of Cora’s house with his siblings. Cora breathed in, and sighed, “It’s not ending yet, it’s just a new start…”
short story
A Life Change, a short story by Vaishali Andukuri, 10
Vaishali Andukuri, 10Oakland, NJ A Life Change Vaishali Andukuri, 10 I had a normal life. A slow life, sure…But it was good. I was just a regular 12 year-old who had a standard schedule. I woke up, went to school, came home, played a bit, helped cook dinner, ate it, went to bed and my day was done. Until one day when my life changed. I was going to school, and on the way, I stopped by a small corner shop, to buy water. When I came back from school, I heard the news that there was a virus going around. Something COVID? I didn’t care. Not much comes to our town. I went to watch TV. Apparently some big cities were on something called “quarantine”? Also there were some huge numbers. “The Death Toll” they said it was. I just assumed that it was a bunch of people crying because they got a cold. The next day, I was coughing more than usual. Two days after that, I felt weirdly warm. My mom checked, and said it was a fever. I was sick for a while. It wasn’t too bad. I got “get well” gifts, and my parents took care of me and gave me food in bed. Then one day while I was playing, I got tired. I took a huge breath, and it hurt. Slowly and steadily, my breathing worsened. Then it got so bad that my parents took me to the hospital, where they ran some tests. A doctor came, and took a nose swab. He then took it to the lab. He came back with the results. He looked scared and sad. He said that I was going to be okay, and that my parents would be right there. I was confused. Why would I be worried? Why was my family in a rush to come? I asked him what was going on, and he looked surprised and confused at the same time. “You didn’t figure it out? You have the coronavirus, or SARS- CoV-2.” he explained. I was mortified. “I have a fancy cough?!” I yelled. “Oh trust me, it’s not just for the fancy people. Tons of normal people are contracting the virus.” the doctor replied casually. I did not like this doctor. “What happened to them?” I asked warily. “Oh…. Some died, some got lifelong breathing problems, and some are absolutely fine.” he responded unhappily. Now I was scared. I had probably got it in that shop! I didn’t want to die, so I asked what I could do. He said all I could was wait it out and try to stay alive. I was unhappy, sad, in pain, and exhausted. I couldn’t sleep, and it was horrible staying in the hospital. I wished I had taken the safety precautions. I would have been safe. I was not the first to learn the hard way. Tons of people have ignored the precautions and gotten sick. Some had even died. I got out of the hospital alive, but I had breathing problems. I wish for everyone else to stay safe and not make my mistake again. Before, I had lived an ignorant life. Now I have changed for the better.
Something Smells Fishy, a short story by Daniella Horna-Baxter, 13
Daniella Horna-Baxter, 13Oak Park, IL Something Smells Fishy Daniella Horna-Baxter, 13 I was tired of being stuck inside with only my parents. I was itching for sunlight, and barely any clouds littered the sky. So, I decided to go to the backyard to do my e-learning. I was doing my math when I noticed how pretty the pond water was as it reflected the clear blue sky. I decided it was time for a break. I got my camera and started taking pictures. I was marveling at the pictures when I took a closer look and noticed that there were only 10 of my 30 or so fish there. Interesting . . . I got some fish food and flew outside. I counted again. 11. Hmmmm. I threw the specks of food all across the pond hoping some would come out. Nothing. If the food was in the pond, why weren’t fish coming out? I called my best friend that I had lived next to for over 8 years. Joel answered right away. “Hey Hannah what’s up?” “I think a raccoon is eating my fish.” “Really? Try setting up a camera.” I did, but I forgot to get a light and all the footage was pitch black. 9 fish. So, the next night I got my flashlight and aimed it at the pond. I was sure to catch the animal. The next morning I woke up and immediately checked the footage, the video had gone dark at 10 o’clock. I checked the flashlight, dead. 6 fish. I called Joel, yet again he answered immediately “Have you caught it?” “No, I don’t know what to do.” “Why don’t you stay up tonight? I’ll check on you each hour.” I woke up at 7. 4 fish. I called up Joel. “Joel! Why didn’t you wake me up last night?!” “I was trying to! But you sleep like a baby! I tried waking you up with a megaphone, but Old Greta across the street yelled at me for being too loud. So I tried to go wake you up but then I remembered the 6 foot rule.” “Well what am I going to do now?” “I have some motion activated lasers that send a notification to your phone when something moves.” “How do you have that? “My dad worked night security at the Art Museum” There was no movement, and now I had no fish. I Face Timed Joel. “Joel! There’s no more fish left!” “Oh no!” Then I noticed something behind him. A fish tank. With my fish.
