Starfall

Jairo slowly trudged through the dark, damp swamp. His boots squished in the soft mud under the putrid water. "So, what's the deal with this place?" Jairo spoke over his throat mic that was transmitting to Austen who was back at the army base. Jairo was the squad commander of Troop 42. He had been waiting to be a commander in his squad since his brother had passed away who led the squad. He was a very tenacious man with a strong heart and clear goals. His squad consisted of Jon, who had been a very good friend of his from his childhood which had joined him in his ranks in armed services. Jasmine, a garrulous woman that had also served in his ranks whom was also very genial and also fastidious , and Richard, whom was another member of the armed services in which they appointed him to join the squad without Jairo’s consent. and Austen as the lead tactics advisor along with Kaitlin as his co-partner, but she never serviced for much. They were on the planet Saritum in the year 3015, the government sent an order to try their best to make Saritum be able to be colonized.

Jairo, Jon, Jasmine and Richard were sent on a mission to find the captured Sergeant, Charles, that was reported MIA and all of his other troop members had been found dead. They all stood still in the dense mist of the swamp land. They had heard the howling of a beast that sounding close to a banshee and a wolf.

"Seems just like a large strip of swamp land for the most part, except farther north there is something that resembles a primitive village. Maybe that's where Charlie is located," Austen spoke back as he clicked away on his computer. "I'll keep you filled in if I find anything interesting."

"Roger," Jairo spoke back nodding to himself clicking off his throat mic, shutting off his end of the transmission, and throwing a signal at his squad, commanding his squoad to move forward with caution. They kept through the swamp land, making the least amount of noise as possible, keeping an eye out for any personnel or traps.

"Jairo stop!" Richard shouted abruptly killing the silence. Jairo stopped dead in his tracks then surveyed his surroundings though his visor.

"I don't see anything.." Jairo responded. Richard lifted a trembling finger pointing towards the water. "Move y- your visor. " Richard managed to speak out. Jairo moved his visor and squinted into the water. There was a very thin wire that spread from two plants and a large spike in the water, with a green-ish hue at the point. Jairo took a few steps backwards and looked around him. He noticed Jon still had his Gatling gun raised and signaled him to lower it.

"You've always had a keen eye." Jairo spoke towards Richard smiling. "'Can you disarm it?"

"Of course," Richard responded confidently tossing his rifle towards Jasmine. She caught it one handed by her own side arm, and watched Richard as he moved towards the left end of the wire where it had been tied onto a plant. He reached for the wire and he placed his hand onto where it was tied. The moment his fingers grazed the wire, extemporaneously two blades shot up from both sides in which the wires were tied, and one of the blades impaled him directly into the heel, shooting through the top of his knee. Richard let out a loud yelp of pain and Jasmine passed her guns to Jairo and ran over to aid him. Jon tossed his gun of his shoulder and walked over and helped Jasmine pull Richard off the blade. Jasmine tended to his wounds then stood up.

"You gonna' be alright?" Jasmine said wearily as she examined the blade for any poison.

"Yeah I'll live, its just a flesh wound," Richard said and chuckled. Jasmine smiled back and blew Richard a kiss then went back to get her gun and Jairo passed Richard's gun back to him. Jairo balled up his hand into a fist and gritted his teeth. He had always had feelings for Jasmine, but he couldn't let romance come in the way of his ordeals.

"Austen, come in,"' Jairo spoke softly, turning his throat microphone back on.

"yes, I'm here and I have some Intel for you. I've seen movement around the area of the village, but pretty much nothing else since I can't tell what's going on in the swamp since the mist is so dense. Anything new with you guys?" Austen spoke back.

"Yes. Richard had been hit by a trap, but Jasmine tended to his wounds. I think those monsters were expecting visitors, and they aren't very fond of them either. Keep an eye out if anything new arises. Out," Jairo spoke back and ended the transmission.

They all crept around the trap, still moving due North towards the village, trying to keep an eye out for any possible traps. Everybody halted as they heard a giant splash in the near distance, all of them lifted their guns gazing into the dense mist, trying to catch an image of any creatures. Suddenly, a beast plunged through the mist and cleaved through Jairo's suit. He toppled over and raised his guns and blasted a few shots into the creatures face, Jon firing upon the creature in just massive over-kill and the beast toppled over in immense pain and died. Jairo got up with Jasmine's help and she examined his chest since the beasts claw's had cut into his skin. Jasmine patched him up and stared into his eyes.

" I can't really do much about the suit, and I also can't tell what the out come will be of the creature piercing skin. We'll have to find out later, " Jasmine spoke to him with worried eyes. Jairo glanced back and nodded his head and ordered everybody to continue on. The beast that had attacked Jairo was very large, about 6 feet in height. It had thick black fur and large fangs shooting upwards. It's claws were about 6 inches in length, and sharp enough to kill a man. It's eyes had a nice black and red tint.

"There's probably going to be a lot more monsters like that, " Jairo said to his troop, then clicked on his throat microphone and explained to Austen what the situation was.

"Ah, keep your microphone on then, just in the case that something were to happen," Austen replied. Jairo knew Austen was talking about if they were to die, but he knew he was just putting it subtly.

They arrived at the village which had been outside of the swamp area with the dense mist. Jairo needed to remind himself why they were there, to rescue Sergeant Charles. They needed to find him, or at least tag him as dead. Everybody moved their visors over they're eyes and raised their guns, prepared for the worst.

They crept towards the first building in the village. Breathing softly, Jairo slowly pushed the door open, examining the insides of the building. He moved forward and looked at the door, setting his visor on heat detection. There were 3 bodies on the other side of the door.

"He's in here I think," Jairo spoke quietly as they heard the small howl as they did the last time. "On 3, we storm in. 1...2...3!" Jairo spoke and booted the door down. Jon mowed both of the beasts down before they even had much time to react and Jasmine rushed over to Charles as Jairo, Jon and Richard inspected the rest of the house for any other monsters. Charles had many gashes throughout his face, with clothing torn and he was unconscious. Jasmine patched him up and made sure the bleeding stopped. Everybody returned to Charlie and Jairo picked him up and carried him on his shoulders.

"Austen, we have found Charles, Jasmine patched him up but he is currently unconscious, we're gonna need some evac, " Jairo spoke into his throat mic transmitting to Austen. There was no response..

2nd Quater Outside Reading Book Review

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. Genre: Fiction

Artemis Fowl is the first installment in the 7 story long Artemis Fowl series. The books main characters are the boy genius, Artemis Fowl (quite obviously), and his assistant, Domovoi Butler, which who is commonly spoken to as 'Butler.' This story takes place in modern day Ireland, but it also takes place in the underground magical cities of fairies. This story begins to kick in as Artemis beings to try to prove the existence of fairies in the living world. He travels to Vietnam and encounters a book that explains a lot about fairies written in the fairy language, gnomish. This book leads his further in the ordeals of the fairies. Eoin Colfer does an astounding job in describing very fine point details in his story, which gives the reader a great mental imagry of the things that are actually occuring within the story. "Let us proceed under the assumption that fairies do not exist and that I am a gibbering moron." The Artemis Fowl series has now captivated my attention greatly and I want to read further into the series since this book has the concept and fantasy and fairies mixed together and a great attention capturing book. I would enjoy reading further into the series to see what would occur later.

First Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005. Genre: Fiction


This is 6th book in the Harry Potter series, the sequel to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter is the main character in the story (quite obviously), along with his friends, and the head wizard at Hogwarts, Dumbledore. The story takes place in current day in London, England, and mainly at the wizardry school Hogwarts. In this story, Harry Potter, as well as others, are trying to take down the most powerful evil wizard, Voldemort. Harry Potter works with Dumbledore, to find a way to take down Voldemort.
In this book, J.K. Rowling likes to use a large variety of descriptive adjectives, that allows you to actually imagine what the majority of the characters in the book look like just from imagining them. Also, in this book, she put more drama between friends in the book, unlike most of the other books, which actually made the book more entertaining to read. "A scene of total devastation met their eyes. A grandfather clock lay splintered at their feet, its face cracked, its pendulum lying a little farther away like a dropped sword. A piano was on its side, its key strewn across the floor. The wreckage of a fallen chandelier glittered nearby. Cushions lay deflated, feathers oozing from slashes in their sides; fragments of glass and china lay like powder over everything"' (63).
I have read the Harry Potter series from the begining, as well as watched the movies, and I am awed by her work with these books. After reading one page, it makes me want to just keep reading on farther into it. This book kept me in suspense on what was going to happen next, with quite a bit of pitch black humor subtly thrown into the story. It also told later in the story, that people may understimate the power of a minor, which inspired me greatly. I would like to continue reading the series to know what will happen next.

Different angles of a FPS?

Many people value different things in life. It can very to just a lowly event, that brought satisfaction to a variety of people, or just something like an expensive objects such as jewelery. I value many different things in life, but there are a simple few things that just give me a feeling of glee. Things just as simple as pulling a good grade out of a test, or just doing well in a certain challenges are things that I value, but there are things that I value immensely.

I quietly open the door, making sure no loud sounds would occur, which would result in the hollering of an angry mother. I hover across the rickety floor and slowly descend onto my couch. I reach over and grab the perfectly shaped controller that fits just right in my hands, and slowly slide the headset over the top of my head. I hold down no the large silver button and kick up my feet as I am about to begin on a joy ride.
I pop in a game disc into the large console with the engraved letters, spelling out Xbox 360, that has been waiting impatiently for my return. A notification alerts all of my other friends that I have returned. I receive a few invitations from a few others, advising me that they would like if I were to join them in playing. I ponder whom should I tag along with, then I decide on who to join. I sink farther into my couch as a wave of relaxation flows over me as I enjoy the experience.
My friends and I ascend into the battlefield, ready for the action. The loud sound of a fragmentation grenade exploding sounds from behind me. I feel shell shock due to it, but shake it off as I trudge along. I mow down one player on the opposing team and quickly take the lead. An alarm sounds off, warning players that there is only a minute left. My character dies a few times more, but ends up re-spawning brand new every time. The battle ends, and my friends let out cheers and begin to boast about how good they did.

I slowly push my goggles back up the bridge of my nose and I crouch down and lightly step through the soft terrain, avoiding branches and other noise causing objects. In my hands I help my brand new m14, gripping tightly onto my the green rubberized ABS plastic and pushing the metal stock hard onto my shoulder. The majority of the gun was composed of iron, including the bolt and the sights, which gave it a more realistic feel. It was electric powered, running on a 9.4 volt battery. It is an average gun all around, but it pulls through whenever I need it.
I kept my head down, and glanced around quickly. Everything was still, almost peaceful, but I knew it couldn't be. I gripped tighter on my m14, having the feeling of paranoia kicking me in the stomach as a kept glancing into the distance. I quickly drop to the ground as a hear the click click of bbs tapping the bark on the tree I was moving next to. I pop my head up and surveyed the area around me and I see a faint figure at the top of the hill. He noticed he had been spotted, but did not retreat. He kept firing in my general direction, thinking I was gonna become impatient and try to fire back from my spot. After he had stopped firing, I revealed myself from my position and fired a well aim shot then hit him directly in the forehead. He shouted loudly then yelled out "hit!" and tossed both his hands into the air, one with a grip on his gun. I grinned to myself. It was my first 'kill' with my new gun, and I knew it was going to leave a mark.


With my Xbox 360, I can get hours of leisurely entertainment, which friends whom I knew in real life, or just people I have met from playing online. In total, it was $200 for the console alone, a range from $20 to $60, then it costs an additional $50 per year, to be able to play online with others. With airsoft, I play with my friends, and we play for fun, as well for bragging rights. I value both these immensely, not because of how much I spent on them, because they are both worth while things to do for me, and will continue to for quite a bit of time.

The Saving

Becca sat down at her desk and inhaled deeply, tossing the contents of the box across the table, then assorting them back into their own piles. She took slow breathes and examined the pictures and the other documents very closely. She slowly peered out the window and saw a large woman tugging on a young boy’s arm. His clothes were very torn and looked like they haven’t been washed in ages. The boy had pleading eyes and messy hair and stared straight into the window and Becca’s and the boy’s eyes met in a stare that seemed like it lasted ages. The gazing was broken as the boy was thrown 5 feet forward onto his face by the large woman. Suddenly broken from her concentration, she jumped up from her chair and ran outside to see if the boy was okay. She sprint onto the side with her window and saw no sight of the boy and the woman. Disappointed, she ambled back her office to work on the story with her grandmother.
What have I dragged my self into this time, thought the boy as he was being thrashed by his mother sensuously. The mother was thrashing the boy because the school principal had call to tell her that they had caught him stealing sweets from other students. He didn’t say a word as his mother as she beat him because he knew it would just end up crossing against him. One of the only things on his mind was the woman at the printing company. He knew she wanted to help him, that’s why he wanted to go back there as much as he could. If he could, he could sneak out of the school, or his own house to get to that woman.
Becca sat nervously at her desk remembering the cut and bruised face of the little boy. She felt sympathetic for the boy for the fact that he had been tossed around and looked like he was mistreated and especially malnourished. Her hands were trembling as she argued in her own mind over which to pursue first, the history of her grandmother, or to aid the little boy from what looked like an abusive mother. She discussed with herself back and forth what was more important, and she finally agreed upon that she would try her best to see if she could aid the little boy as quick as possible and then to uncover the past of the grandmother.
The next day, the boy, David, instead of taking his normal route to school, he thought of the quickest way back to the printing company where he had found Becca. He tried his best and sprinting down many different streets before standing directly in front of the door to the building. He thought immensely to try to remember which window he found Becca the other evening. His eyes wide, he remembered which window it was and sped right to that same window. Struck with great sadness, all he could see was a light inside an office and the desk in which Becca sat, was completely empty of anything that could have left a trace of her. Maybe she’s in that office talking with her boss, David thought. He waited patiently, knowing his time was running thin before people would start to become suspicious about his absence. In time, all he saw was a woman he had never seen before, and he dragged his head down and an idea popped into his mind. He could walk into the building and ask if he could see that woman. The shoved his face into his palm and shook his head at his idea. He didn’t even know the name of this woman, how could he possibly ask for her? He started into the window, and to his intent, there she was, Becca, walking right back to her desk. He jumped up into the air and tapped on the window, not too light, but loud enough to be heard. Becca eyes quickly shifted as she saw David from the other day, she signaled him to the front door as she ran there as well.
“Hey kid, you’re the same boy from the other day being dragged by that woman?” Asked Becca.
“Yes Ma’am, she is my mother,” he responded in a grim tone with his eyes beaming towards the ground.
“Oh, that doesn’t seem alright. Does she always act that way? And oh, sorry, didn’t mean to be rude, my name is Rebecca, but you can just call me Becca. What is your name?” Said Becca.
“My name is David Becca, I just hoped you could help me get out of the dreaded house..” David pained eyes drifted towards Becca’s. “Please Becca, I absolutely beg of you.”
“I will gladly help you David, let me call up the police station and they will be able to get you out of the life of that woman.” Becca said back with a smile.
The police arrived shortly after the call, the scooped up David, he had a frightened, yet grateful look on his face. He was put into the passengers seat of the cruiser and slowly waved, tears streaming down his face, as he looked directly at Becca’s face. She stared back and waved as well. It was a good farewell and Becca knew what she had done was right, she smiled and returned the matters of her grandmother.