Stanzas 11-20

The fire causes Katniss to flee,

And she finds herself hiding in a tree

The others try to reach her there,

But can’t, so all they did was stare.

She decided to stay the night to rest,

Until she spotted a hornet’s nest

She was getting ready to run, she almost ran

Until she thought of a brilliant plan

The hornets worked as a distraction,

To get away in the midst of all the action

The hornets killed some of the others

But Katniss was attacked by some of their brothers.

The stings made her body swell

Which way was she going? She couldn’t tell

She began to feel dizzy, as if she wouldn’t make it away

But then Peeta Mellark came to save the day!

Katniss soon recovered, good as new

And soon got a new partner, named Rue

The two of them planned to destroy the enemy’s food

And when they succeeded the enemy was screwed

Rue is lost in the middle of their plan

And Katniss’ ear hurts so much she can barely stand

 Later Rue is attacked, and breathes her last breath

And Katniss fights on to avenge her death

Katniss can barely move she is in such shock,

But new information comes that stops her on the clock

A change to the games that has never been done;

Two players can win the games, not just one!

Katniss sets off to find Peeta Mellark,

And when she does he is covered in bark.

He has to hide himself because he was hurt

But despite his pain, he still managed to flirt.

Katniss realized that if she continued this act of love,

She would continue to receive gifts from above

Gifts from Haymitch that would help them survive,

Gifts so helpful they knew they could stay alive.

As Peeta’s condition grew worse however,

Katniss knew that it was now or never.

Katniss drugged Peeta with some berries

And with that set off, en route. 

Adaptation of "The Damned Thing"

I



The hideously terrifying clown stared down upon the lifeless body, smiling at its many deformities. His smile stretched across his face from one ear to the other, dripping with blood. His red and purple jumpsuit, torn and frayed at the edges, was emblazoned with a badge bearing the name Morty the Clown. By his foot was the head of the 19 year old girl; eyes wide, mouth open and a large gash across her throat. The blood that had flowed from the girl’s neck had long since pooled around her and seeped through the cracks in the grainy wooden floor of the fun house. Morison’s Carnival of Horrors wasn’t known for its excellent care of its facilities. Neither was it for its care-takers; the Morison’s Carnival police, all three of them, stood in a small semi-circle around the body twiddling their thumbs. They were close enough to see the girl and observe her injuries, though the light was dim, but they still remained behind the yellow caution tape that encased the area around her.  Their brown uniforms, pants and a long sleeve button down, were made of a cheap stiff material that was meant to look official and expensive, but simply extenuated the fact that they were carnival workers. Finally one of the men, an extremely tall one, took a deep breath, wrinkling his nose at the stench hanging thick in the air, and daringly spoke the first words in a while:

“Well it seems we have a bit of a situation, boys.”

He clapped his hand together as he said this, and then looked around for a response. No one responded. He continued tentatively, “Do any of you know of what happened down here?”

Finally, one of the other two men spoke up. The man was a nicely built and balding. He wasn’t quite tall but wasn’t short either. He stuck his hand in his pockets, and nervously shifted his weight from one foot to another as he spoke.

“Yeah, I do. Or at least I know someone who does. I called you guys because I was walking past the fun house just as a boy came running out, screaming at the top of his lungs. It wasn’t a playful scream; it was the type of scream that kind of sends a chill through you. Anyway, I went over the kid and realized that it was Johnny, the new boy who works here now. Turns out he’s the one who mans the fun house every night from six to nine with Annie.”

As he mentioned her name he looked down at the corpse mangled on the floor. It was Annie. He swallowed and continued.

“When he reached me he buckled over and threw up, then he looked up at me with his pale face and got out the words, ‘She’s dead,’ before fainting and falling onto the ground. I called the paramedics on stand-by and when they got there a minute later I came in here and found this. That’s when I called you guys.”

Once he finished, the third man finally said something.

“I guess we better find out what happened from that kid then.”

II

I’m still shaking pretty bad as the three officers come out to talk to me. I try taking three slow deep breaths to calm myself down some more, but it doesn’t help much. I had to be woken up from fainting by getting water splashed on my face as it was. I still can’t believe something like this happened to me. Just three hours ago I had been texting Annie like any other day. I looked at the last text she sent me, “See you at work.” It was time-stamped Fri. 13, 5:13, right before work. Wow, I didn’t even know it was Friday the 13^th.

I shake my head quickly as if shaking the water from my hair. I must have done this twenty times already now, trying to recall what had happened an hour earlier. I really didn’t want to remember, and just the notion that I was going to have to recall the events that had preceded Annie’s death made me want to heave again. I knew though as the officers approached that I had no choice.

“Hey Johnny,” said the balding one, “How are you feeling?”

It was the man who had seen me run out of the fun house screaming right before I fainted.

“I’m feeling a little better I guess.”

“Good. Well we’re going to need you to tell us exactly what happened in there.”

I shifted uneasily as I heard these words. Maybe it could have been because the back of the ambulance I have been sitting in for nearly an hour was digging into the back of my legs, but I knew that wasn’t the case. It was because I knew I was going to have to tell my story to the officers and I did not want to.

“I know,” I replied, “But… you have to listen to the whole thing and know I’m not making anything up, okay?”

The three men nodded their heads in agreement and shuffled around me to hear what I had to say. They were all looking at me with eyebrows raised, and one of them had his arms crossed.

Pausing, I took a deep breath, and began my story.

  *                                        *                                      *

Annie and I are working our normal shift from six to nine in the fun house tonight. It’s long and boring work and we just stand around for the majority of it. Every once in a while we make our normal rounds, checking the rooms for delinquents, and making sure people were moving along. Tonight things are exceptionally slow. After what seemed like forever, it was finally nearing nine o’clock and me and Annie began to shuffle the few people in the fun house out. After roping off the waiting line, we made our way back the center room to turn off the lights.  

I reached for my flashlight from my pocket, and switched it on, standard routine. Annie did the same. Then, Annie walked over and looked at the clown as she reached past it to the wall for the light switch. “I don’t see why people would want to come and see that thing, it’s so scary.”

She flicked the light-switch off and the lights went out. Then suddenly a shrill, agonizing scream erupted from Annie. Her flashlight was aimed at the ceiling and then began flashing around to every corner of the room.

Her screams continued as I yelled, “What’s wrong?! What happened?!” but I got no response. The sounds pierced the darkness and made it seem as if she was in the most extreme agony. My hands shook as I fumbled clumsily with my flashlight to see what was going on. The beam from my light shook unsteadily on the area where Annie had been standing when she turned off the lights but there was no one there. I didn’t understand, she wasn’t here, yet the cries persisted. I frantically searched the room, and to my horror found Annie on the ceiling, held by some invisible force, her limbs twisted in the most gruesome angles. I froze with no idea what to do.

Before I could think of something, my eyes widened with horror. I looked at Annie’s neck as it slowly began to open as if someone was slicing it from left to right. Blood poured from the opening, splattering onto the floor below, inches from my feet, and Annie’s screams turned into gurgles. I feel queasy. I think I might pass out. My head was spinning and I barely made it out of the way as Annie’s body came crashing down from the ceiling. It landed with a thump on the floor, and I looked at it. Then I ran.

III

Johnny took a deep breath as he finished his witness account and slowly looked up at the three officers. “That’s when I ran out and you found me. Then I fainted,” he said.

The three officers looked at each other. One of them uncrossed his arms as another put his hand in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. All three of them exchanged weary looks.

Then the extra tall one reached over and put his hand on Johnny’s shoulder and said, “Listen kid, let’s call your mom now to come pick you up and you can go home and get a good night’s sleep. We’ll have you come in tomorrow afternoon for some questions to see if we can get a better understanding of what happened.”

Johnny’s face showed disappointment, but he just nodded his head and reached for his phone to call his mom. As he did this, the three officers turned around and walked to the front of the ambulance where they stood in a circle. One of them leaned on the side hood of the vehicle. He rubbed his chin with the arm he was resting on and sighed.

“That kid is in a serious state of shock right now. I honestly don’t know what to believe about this whole situation.”

He looked up at the others expectantly. The balding one replied, “We will definitely need to question him again tomorrow and record his answers and his story. I just don’t understand, Johnny’s a good kid… But if there really weren’t any other people in there like he said…”

“I guess we’ll just figure it out,” said the extra tall one.

Just then, Johnny speaks up. The three heads whip over to where he’s standing with startled expressions. Despite the looks on their faces, Johnny doesn’t miss a beat as he stretches out his hand with his phone and says, “I think you should take a look at these.”

“What are you talking about?” says the officer leaning on the car.

“The text messages. They’re from Annie the past week.”

IV

From:  Annie Morton

Did you hear that sound in the fun house tonight? It was like a howling or… a whining or something. It sounded like it was coming from the walls…

MON. AUG. 9 10:06

From:  Annie Morton

I dunno, whenever I walk through that center room with the clown now it gives me the creeps. It just doesn’t feel right.

MON. AUG. 9 10:11

From:  Annie Morton

I’m really starting to get sick of that place.

MON. AUG. 9 10:23

From:  Annie Morton

I have to tell you something that I haven’t told anyone else.

WED. AUG. 11 9:53

From:  Annie Morton

Last night I was walking past that clown in the center room and you know how I twisted my angle? …Well right before that, I felt an icy cold pressure around my ankle. It felt as though it was twisting my foot.

WED. AUG. 11  9:55

From:  Annie Morton

It has something to do with that clown. Every time I’m near it now something happens to me. Tonight a rush of cold air flew past me when no one but you was in the room. No one else but you is ever in the room when things happen.

WED. AUG. 11 10:15

From:  Annie Morton

I can’t stand it anymore. That place is driving me insane. I keep trying to tell myself it’s nothing, it’s nothing, but I know it has to be something!

THURS. AUG. 12  11:49

From:  Annie Morton

I can’t take one more night in that place!

FRI. AUG. 13  5:26

From:  Annie Morton

See you at work.

FRI. AUG. 13  5:13

Dark Fantasy Essay

There are many people whose favorite stories are in the Dark Fantasy subgenre. This is because Dark Fantasy has a sort of appeal to some readers, whether it is because of certain horrific events, or the fear that it creates in them. Sometimes readers are drawn to the fear that a character’s impending death brings about. The three short stories, Duel, Nightcrawlers, and The Raft, all clearly demonstrate qualities of horror, fear, and impending death, with The Raft taking the cake as the epitome of Dark Fantasy. Furthermore, while Nightcrawlers and The Raft both clearly demonstrate qualities of the supernatural, Duel comes up short without any sign of the supernatural.

Duel is the least exemplary of the Dark Fantasy genre out of the three short stories presented, but it still shows substantial evidence that it is in fact Dark Fantasy. In Duel a person named Mann is driving to San Francisco but runs into a problem along the way. A mysterious truck driver harasses him on the highway, and no matter what Mann tries to, the driver won’t give up. The author, Richard Matheson first presents an element of fear in the short story when the mystery driver passes Mann for the second time. He describes the, “Unexpected roar of the truck motor,” making his startled look, “jump to the rearview mirror.” Eventually, Mann’s fear faded to anger towards the truck driver as the passing road battle continued. Mann pulled off the highway and stopped at a diner hoping to calm his anger and lose the truck driver, only to realize that the truck driver had followed him into the diner. Once again, fear and anxiety start taking over as Mann doesn’t know what to do; “What was to prevent him from calling the local police and telling them the situation?” but then again, “What if the truck driver stayed to face him? Naturally he’d deny everything.” This argument Mann is having in his mind while sitting at the diner enhances the tension in the novel that the fear creates. It escalates even more once Mann returns to the road and the truck driver tries to kill him again. Not only is the truck driver obviously waiting for and following Mann, but Mann’s car is also slowly dying and will not be able to last much longer. The fear throughout the short story along with the notion of impending death makes Duel an acceptable example of Dark Fantasy.

Nightcrawlers is another fine example of Dark Fantasy showing elements of fear, impending death, and horror. The frightening mood of the piece is first established with the raging storm outside; “Lightning flared from west to east like the strike of a burning bullwhip.” It almost seems as if the storm with its huge booms of thunder, is warning the people in the diner of what is going to happen later on. Later, a man walks into the diner and the workers there soon discover all the problems that come with him. When this man first walked in, the narrator described him as, “a man who looked like walking death.” This clearly demonstrates an element of horror and obviously, impending death. One main component of Dark Fantasy is that the protagonist is trying to escape death. The man who walked into the diner had been driving all night so that he would not fall asleep. This is because if he fell asleep, his war-filled past would come back to life, literally. The man drove all night and was going to continue driving so that the war and death did not come back into his life. The fact that the man’s dreams come to life is an apparent example of the supernatural in this story. The appearance of the supernatural and the protagonist trying to escape death makes it a superior example of Dark Fantasy compared to Duel.

While Duel and Nightcrawlers both exemplify the Dark Fantasy genre, The Raft is the most fitting of the three. For example, the protagonist of The Raft, Randy, perfectly corresponds to the typical Dark Fantasy protagonist which is to escape death. He outlives all of his three friends who each get picked off one by one by “the monster”. In this short story the monster was what seemed to look like a harmless oil slick, but in reality was a human-hungry monster. Even after his first two friends are eaten, Randy is determined to keep his friend, LaVern and himself alive. Even after she gets eaten Randy stays awake all night and all days so that he will not become vulnerable to the will of the monster. Along with the protagonist’s impending death, there is most definitely an element of the supernatural in this short story. The “oil slick”, not only can take hold of people and eat them alive, but it does so by entrancing them with its colors. It almost hypnotizes them and draws them in so that it can eat the victim. The horror created when the monster kills each of its victims also greatly contributes the Dark Fantasy genre of this story. Deke’s death posed to be the most gruesome, as the monster pulled his whole body through one of the cracks in the raft; “Blood streamed from each of Deke’s ears. His face was a hideous purple turnip, swelled and shapeless with the hydrostatic pressure of some unbelievable reversal…” Stephen King, the author of The Raft is excellent with his choice of vocabulary and the impact that it has on the reader. The words he chooses put images in the reader’s head that are horrifying and perfect at generating fear within the reader. The Raft through King’s excellent vocabulary to create horrific imaging, along with his use of the protagonist’s pending death is an excellent example of the Dark Fantasy Genre. 

While all three short stories are considered Dark Fantasy, some are a greater part of the genre than others. Duel is the least exemplary of the three, as it only creates fear in the reader and shows the main characters impending death. However, Nightcrawlers is a better example because it also contains qualities of the supernatural. The Raft demonstrates obvious examples of fear and horror, along with the protagonist’s imminent death and the supernatural.  While Nightcrawlers and Duel are both clear examples of the genre, The Raft clearly is the best example of Dark Fantasy out of the three short stories.

Stanzas 1-10 for "The Hunger Games"

In a land that had rebelled before

The districts now live to settle the score

Katniss’ sister is chosen out of thousands of names

And now she must play for her in The Hunger Games

Katniss meets her opponent, Peeta Mellark

Then she recalls a day when all was bleak and dark;

Katniss and her family were starving and filled with dread

And Peeta had help them with some fresh baked bread

The two say goodbye to their family and depart for the train

If only they didn’t have to keep smiling through the pain

Haymitch, their mentor is a drunken fool they say

And he is the one who must teach them to survive the games day by day

He may be a fool, but Cinna their stylist is not

He dresses Peeta and Katniss so that they were hot

Not hot, as in a matter of desire,

But hot as in heat, because they were on fire

Haymitch began to assess their skills

And tells them exactly how to go about their kills

The two train and practice in the arena, but only as fakers

They wait to show their real talents later to the Gamemakers

The Gamemakers didn’t give Katniss much attention,

Which made her lash out, creating a lot of tension

She thought she would be killed, and then go to heaven,

But instead, on her scoring she received an eleven!

Practicing for the interview, was next on the list

Katniss didn’t do very well, she didn’t get the gist

Peeta however, sounded amazing out loud

And he aced it by declaring his love for Katniss to the whole crowd.

Both Katniss and Peeta are nervous for the games to start

And they bond over this topic through a heart to heart

Katniss learns that Peeta doesn’t even want to win

But she keeps her thoughts to herself, and just waits for the game to begin.

Katniss survives the initial fighting

Then finds a tree to sleep in, though it doesn’t seem inviting.

Then next day, Katniss desperately needs water

Eventually she collapses on the ground, completely open to slaughter.

She was ready to die until she thought something new;

Haymitch was trying to give her a clue!

Just as she reached the water at the lake,

A wall of fire descended on her, once again putting her life at stake.

Dialogue with Commentary

            Cree stood tip-toed, arm outstretched above her head, straining to reach the liter of diet Coca-Cola on the top shelf. It didn’t help that Cree was abnormally stout, or that the six-packs of Orange Dry on the lower shelf were sticking into her protruding stomach. Cree glanced around hopefully looking for someone to help her retrieve the soda, but her eyes were only met with the rest of aisle twelve. She peered longingly at the salty snacks stacked high on the shelves at the end of the aisle, which were conveniently located right next to the carbonated beverages. Just as Cree began imagining her next gorging, she was broken out of her trance by a tall pink figure whipping around the corner.

Just as Cree was registering who the woman was she said, “Cree? Cree, is that you?”

“Oh, hey Serena. It's been a while,” Cree replied, glad she remembered who it was after so long.

“It's been at least two or three years at least. I think the last time we talked was at The Washburns' Christmas party, and they've been divorces for two years by now.” Serena thought back to that happy time when her family actually went to parties together.

“You're probably right, but I doubt it was a few years ago,” Cree said. “You look like you haven't aged a day.”

Serena smiled at the comment remembering how nice her old friend could be. She pushed her cart in the direction of Cree and replied, “It feels like it’s been a while. What have you been up to?”

“Just everyday life, ya know? Sonny just started first grade and he loves it. He’s doing soccer this year too.” Cree said as she began strolling with her cart alongside Serena.

“How’s that going for him?” Serena asked genuinely.

“Very good, he’s making a lot more friends,” Cree said as she made another attempt at the Coca-Cola liter. “How are Meredith and Kristen doing?”

Laughing at her friend’s attempt, Serena easily reached up to the top shelf and handed the liter to Cree. “They’re doing okay. I just got back from taking them both to the mall. Kristen is meeting her boyfriend there and Meredith wanted to get some supplies for her birthday party.”

Cree put the Coke in her cart and continued pushing it down the aisle alongside Serena. “She’s having a birthday party soon?”

Serena looked over, “Oh yeah, it’s the big thirteen. She’s inviting about thirty kids so that’s why I’m here; I need to pick up a lot of food.”

Cree wondered why Serena was letting a thirteen year old invite over so many kids for a party, but instead just replied, “Wow, thirteen already. It’s hard to believe they grow up so fast. Faith is 14 now.”

Shaking her head and rounding the corner of the aisle Serena said, “I know, it is hard to believe. How’s she doing?”

Cree struggled to make the sharp turn with her cart and accidentally knocked over a stack of tea-bag boxes. Flustered, she squatted to pick them up quickly and said, “She’s having some trouble adjusting to high school. I think it is kind of a shock to her.”

Serena leaned over to help Cree pick the boxes up and nodded as a sign for her to go on. “I don’t think she feels like she fits in and she doesn’t have that many friends.” Cree paused, “It’s just a bit hard for her right now, but I’m sure she’ll make some friends soon.”

Serena and Cree stood, stacking the boxes the way they were before. Serena replied with assurance, “I’m sure she will.” Then she continued, “Kristen is having some trouble in school now too. I guess there were some rumors going around about her, but she won’t tell me what they were about. She just wants to be with her boyfriend all the time now.”

A shadow of worry came across Serena’s face but Cree simply laughed it off, “Senior girls will tend to want to do that. Haha.”

            Serena attempted a smile but wasn’t convinced she quite pulled it off genuinely. Scrambling for something to say next, she was thankfully interrupted by the ringing of her blackberry, “I’m sorry I have to take this.”

            Cree nodded and Serena answered the phone, “Hey honey.”

There was a pause before Serena spoke again, “Oh… I see. Alright, I’ll get her.”

There was another short pause followed by a quick, “Yeah, it’s okay. See you tomorrow.”

            Cree looked up from her nails, which she had been staring at intently to see a hurt expression on Serena’s face as she said, “I’m so sorry Cree but I have to go pick up Meredith from her friend’s house. I thought William was going to be able to get her, but” she sighed, “he just told me he has to work through the night.”

            Cree replied cheerfully, “That’s okay! I’m just glad we bumped into each other. Give me a call sometime okay?”

            Looking over her shoulder as she hurriedly pushed her cart away Serena smiled and shouted, “That sounds great. I’ll make sure to give you a call sometime.”

            For some reason, Cree didn’t really believe she would be getting that call.