Prolong Dungeon : A Short Story : The Story Of The Story

They plodded on, thin and filthy as street addicts. Cowled in their blankets against the cold and their breath smoking, shuffling through the black and silky drifts…. and the noon sky black as the cellars of hell. He held the boy against him, cold to the bone. Dont lose heart, he said. We’ll be all right (The Road 177).

We were all encouraged to choke down as much food as possible. Any kind of energy was essential. A melancholy atmosphere hung heavy as the journey progressed. Minutes walking slowly progressed into hours, the sky seemed to darken steadily. All of us were oblivious to the danger shrouded by the dim evening. Only moments after scaling a rather steep ledge did nature dice to turn sour. A deafening rumble made each climber perk up. Snow began to descend at an alarming rate. Thunder began to mic the steady beating of a drum, causing more concern among the ranks of climbers. The powdery snow became more of a risk than ever, climbing under pressure and leaving nothing to stand on. Third base was more than three hours away. Three hours wasn't possible at the rate. Snowfall this bad could be detrimental to the climb’s success. Snow obscured vision and numbed faces. Shouts and orders deemed lost in the screaming wind; people’s figure became shapeless blurs frantically shifting, hoping if they struggled against the wind hard enough, they might find someone. Of course, this was to no avail. Not a single person doubted their demise would come at this point: the stakes were high and no-one could play too well against Mother Nature. The snow crept up to knee-level, making it harder and harder to travel. Death and I were face-to-face. To some, they couldn't bare the idea of dying up here; they had families and friends, children who need parents and

"Wake up, partners," the trail boss, James called. I sleepily looked up , shivered, and saw I was the only one not up. "Here," James said, giving me the horses' bridles and saddles. "Take these and get the horses ready. We have a long day today." I groaned in reply and set up the horses for the day's long drag. I was the horse wrangler and this was my everyday job but I still couldn't get use to the idea of waking up before the sun and working. We drove the cattle into open plains against the winter's cold wrath.

It was a cold morning from which I had awoke. The ground was compacted from all of the slaves who had ambled upon this path, and was wet with the morning dew. I took a brief moment to massage my sores and I set off again, determined to escape this merciless place.

Over time, the severity of inconceivable actions is desensitized to members of the community as the traditions continue to be practiced throughout generations. In “The Lottery”, the story opens with children “selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” (43) in preparation for the stoning, as if it was part of an ordinary routine. At a young age, children tend to learn and mimic the actions of those around them. They listen to voices of authority like Old Man Warner’s as he ridicules the idea of other villages abolishing the lottery, calling them, “Pack of crazy fools” (48), and saying how, “they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves … there’s always been a lottery” (48). Following the influence of the elders, the children fail to question the

“ Because the climbing route wove under, around, and between hundreds of these unstable towers, each trip through the Icefall was a little like playing a round of Russian roulette…”

My feet, without any cloths to protect them were bloody and covered in sores from rubbing against sharp stones. Like some of the horrible bed sores one of my many brothers had gotten years ago. At least that is how I am picturing them in my mind, as couldn’t see them in this light, or lack of. My feet ached, hunger pains were beginning to rise, my head, with such intense pain and that awful, awful feeling that I was not alone. I could feel the hairs on my neck stand as the eerie buzz of silence screamed in my ear. Unconsciously my slow pacing of the perimeter broke into a full speed run.

I sauntered down Main Street U.S.A, greeting the gentle giants that walked my way and maneuvering through the dense crowds of people. Eventually I made it out the border belonging the Land of Disney and got to the gates leading to California’s Adventure, that also happened to be owned by Disney. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by an American soldier clad in blue protective gear, wielding a silver and rouge shield with a star in the middle. I took this as an omen that would protect me on the rest of my journey. I could now see the tower clearly. I was less than half a mile away. I trudged on, until I finally made it to my destination. There it stood, the ginormous building greeted me with its cold arms with the help of a man attired with clothes that resembled those of a bellhop. The man asked how many people were in my party, to which I gallantly responded with a single

My heart pounded against my ribs. My throat was dry, but I had no one to talk to through the harrowing experience that I had just endured. My backpack not only weighed down my body, but also my morale. I looked around, but there was nobody in sight. Purposefully twisted metal and bright green trees encompassed me. I knew where I was. But I was lost.

As Bill took his first step in the woods, he takes a deep breath soaking in the scent of oak and fresh ash. “far removed from the seats of strife”, not having a warm bed or hot meals even a full night rest. Knowing he had one abventure ahead for Bill and Kats. Both having to hike 16 miles everyday over rocks,trees, crossing ice cold rivers, and hearding the rain outside of thier tend and the roaring of the bears at night.

Once I got to the trail, I saw the rest of my classmates. We all had heavy coats and boots for the trail. The trail was 5 miles long, so we all had to be prepared.

I’ll never forget how frightened and scared I was the day we left Nauvoo. We left our beautiful home and all of our possessions behind as we began our trek West to the Rocky Mountains. We didn’t want to leave but the persecution had become so bad from the people who hated our religion that we had no choice. They burned down our temple and stole our livestock and reports of members of our church being assaulted or killed were becoming more and more frequent. After my father’s business had been broken into and his printing presses destroyed, we had no other option but to leave. So we sold all the possessions that we could and bought a team of oxen. We loaded everything into the wagon, and started a journey that would last over a thousand miles

Even though the drill sergeant told us to keep our heads down, I couldn’t help but peek my head up just to see what is out the window. All I saw was the beautiful blue sky with no clouds in site, and the sun just smiling down on us. The bus stopped at the destination, and I felt my heart stopped as if it was the last time I ever get to see the world. Out of nowhere the same drill sergeant with the mega phone was outside of my bus and started yelling at us with all his might. We could sense fear and terror in the atmosphere as the drill sergeant started pull us out of the bus one by one. The closer I got to the drill sergeant the clearer I got to see every vein and artery throbbing out of his neck and for every word he said you can see them pumping a heartbeat. Once I was able to get my focus from all the scatterings another drill sergeant was yelling at me to run up this hill that look as if it was Mount Rushmore but covered in grass and surrounded by privates but in a far distance look like ants. So I ran to the top acting like it was the end of my life and that I running away from the bulls like how the Spaniards do when they have their annual running with the bulls. Running to the top of the hill was harder than excepted. After finally reaching the top I stopped to catch my breath for my lungs felt as if they’re balloons and someone squeezed all the air out of

After eating our packed lunches the second half of the group went. We put on our gear, a basic harness with a couple of straps and a helmet that laid loosely on our heads. Anxiety went through my head as if I was walking down a dark and scary alley without knowing what awaits.

trip. Later they stopped at the tower to have some food, where the owner of the place was there, and