Upcoming sprint phone summer 2011 \

​
https://preview.redd.it/9onjcdsg4t1d1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a3eedb5b02534517d65c0889da6296dc5818d15f
Edmonton, Alberta – TheNewswire - May 13, 2024 — Golden Rapture Mining Corporation [CSE:GLDR] (“Golden Rapture” or the “Company”), is pleased to report that its Spring surface sampling program has been completed and that drilling has also just commenced at the Combined Mine area, Phillips Township Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario.
A total of 61 well-mineralized samples were sent to the Lab last week with assay results pending. These appear to be our best-looking samples to date and our drilling has also just commenced targeting high-grade gold targets.
​
https://preview.redd.it/50pgolye5t1d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=45fa51fb40d6baac1d018c13d70055f5b4870391
https://preview.redd.it/qnavxxye5t1d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=9707a95308a18abe9fbc9027b99a139c35b3ff0f
https://preview.redd.it/8gra4lye5t1d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=61e4f9f1dd62f5989eceec5651b59c11b16c3e55
https://preview.redd.it/q7v3ilye5t1d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb9e906b444062a41723bc644098e32f2ce292b5
https://preview.redd.it/nm8nnyye5t1d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=c21ab2b08900c8265bb992d6ca14c57d705d3ddd
Mr. Richard Rivet, CEO of Golden Rapture, commented:
“Golden Rapture is primed for an exciting season of exploration that will target both our high-priority Combined Mine and our Young’s Bay Gold Occurrence with surface sampling programs and drilling of the numerous high-grade drill targets at these two areas of the property.
We expect a stream of upcoming assay results throughout the remainder of the year. So stay tuned for an exciting summer ahead as we seek to uncover our Combined Mine followed by our Young’s Bay Occurrence. Both areas are to be surface sampled and drilled starting now.”
Our priority targets include:
Combined Mine: Of main importance are four (4) main veins (three steeply dipping & one large flat-lying up to 12 meters thick with 762 metres of strike length). It has seven (7) shafts with some drifting with many trenches, pits, and visible gold documented. Recent Golden Rapture sampling results as high as 125.00 g/t Au
Young’s Bay Occurrence: Has six (6) parallel quartz veins, four of which have visible gold with 262 meters in strike length. In 1949, approximately 7.3 tonnes of material was taken from shaft #1 to a depth up to 3.7 meters yielding an astonishing grade of 769.81 g/t Au. Recent Golden Rapture sampling results as high as 204.00 g/t Au.
The property is truly a treasure chest of forgotten golden opportunities hosting an impressive eighteen (18) mine shafts with visible gold having been recorded historically & recently. Of great significance is the fact that the majority of the gold-bearing systems also have parallel systems.
Qualified Person
The technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Archibald, P.Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
About Golden Rapture Mining
Golden Rapture Mining is a well-funded exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of high-potential assets located in favorable, established Tier 1 mining jurisdictions being the Rainy River and Geraldton areas of NW Ontario, Canada.
Our second property includes the past-producing Hutchison/Maylac Gold Mine located in the Geraldton Gold Camp, Greenstone, NW Ontario. It was one of the richest mines in the area and was mined underground on and off from 1937 to 1947. The highest historical drill intersection included results as high as 24.16 oz/t/gold. The property has only seen shallow drilling and was only mined to a depth of around 400ft and lies in the shadows of the new Greenstone/Equinox Gold Mine. We would entertain a JV with the right partner.
On behalf of the Board
Richard Rivet, Chief Executive Officer
Email: [goldenrapture@outlook.com](mailto:goldenrapture@outlook.com)
Phone: 780-885-9385
For more info please look at our website at https://goldenrapturemining.com/

period: april 28th to May 14th 2024.
Nights spent in: Tokyo - Sendai - Fukushima - Koriyama - Nagoya - Hakata ( Fukuoka ).
If it's really off the beaten path or not you'll decide, some destinations visited are really particular, other are way more popular even if usually not what you'll visit in your first trip to Japan. let's say i've been to japan last summer and did all the usual things one do the first time he's there, probably even something more: Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka - Nara - Nikko, Fukuoka, Matsumoto, Himeji, Miyajima. pretty much what almost anyone does for their first time if they have the opportunity.
Given the weak Yen and having still some time ( and money ) i could spend i decided to come back less than a year later, this time at the end of April up until half may in order to explore less popular destinations. I'll avoid to provide the usual tips anyone provide, like how to move from narita, how to get a Suica or how to book a train seat, how to operate a toilet and such things.
SOME TIPS
Concerning Suica: contrary to what most people suggest, i didn't buy one neither last summer or this time and frankly i've never missed not having it. I use my mastercard credit card, most places in japan accept it with zero problems and for the rest you can get Yen at any ATM machine that you can find in any combini with it and pay cash wich japanese still very much use
Concerning the period of the year: last year i went in August. I can confirm that moving around in April/May is so incredibly much better. The heat in august is some day even unbearable. This time the weather was mostly fine, got only one day of rain even if the temperatures were still a bit on the cold side overall. Unfortunately this year Sakura came early and I missed it by a week or two. But still apart from the cherry trees all the plants were blossoming and it was so nice to see flowers everywhere compared to the pain of the humidity and the torment of cicadas you have during summer.
Concerning golden week: one of the two weeks i was there was the golden week. I didn't book anything in advance but, maybe because of the fact i was moving off the beaten path, i almost never had problems booking trains or hotels during golden week ( i said almost, more details later ). Cant tell what's the effect when trying to book hotels in places like Kyoto.
concerning planning: my usual planning method goes the following: i book the plane, obviously. I buy JRP ( yes i still bought it even after the price increase ) and i book two days of hotels. The rest of my trip i have an idea of what i want to do and where i want to go but i book hotels and such, while going along. This gives me the flexibility to change my itinerary or react to bad weather ( last summer i run away from a typhoon with this trick ) or unexpected problems ( last summer i got food poisoning and i had to delay my program booking an hotel for three more days than expected: had i booked all nights in advance it would have been a huge problem ). I only book hotels using the booking website app and i can only say good things about it. I travel alone, maybe for couples or families this isn't as easy as it was for me.
Warning: I like to walk and I walk a lot. So if you need tips to move around, I’m not probably the right person because what you might want to do using a bus or a taxi I would probably do by walking. I’ve walked on average of 20 km a day and probably more and if a place is like 3-4 km from where I am I walk there without even looking if there’s a better option with a bus or something else.
I will give a vote to the places I’ve visited according to two parameters:
How off the beaten path it really is, judging by how many foreign tourists I met there. And an overall vote telling how worthy I feel the place is to visit. To make it short I will call them “OTBP VOTE and OVERALL VOTE”

SO LET'S START WITH THE ACTUAL TRIP REPORT:
Day 1: landing in Tokyo at midday in Narita. After finishing all the immigration process i moved to my hotel. This time i decided to book it for two nights in Omiya/Saitama. The place is less than half an hour from Tokyo Station and was the opportunity to see something different. I haven't seen much of the place but the area around the station was very lively, lots of restaurant and lots of people moving around. It was full of decoration with squirrells and a football team, i guess they were either promoting it or they won something cause decorations were everywhere, honestly didn't ask about. Well apart from checking in, recovering from the flight, looking for something to eat and checking a bit the areai didn't do much.
day 2: in the morning i took the train to Ashikaga Flower Park. I've seen picture of it online and according to the informations i gathered i might have been late for the sakura but the Wisteria were in full bloom and they had a lot of them in this park.
So i took the train, it was around an hour ride and Omiya was strategically on the way. I realized my trip plan was proably a good one when, once reached the Ashikaga flower park station ( there's a train station dedicated to this park ) all the people on the train got off. A little walk, ticket and i was in. The place, given the right time of the year, was AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE. I can't begin to tell you how cool and how huge the wisteria plants were. they were in full bloom, and was something out of this world, it looked like something you see in the movie avatar. Like three or four wisterias as big as a basketball field if not even more, of different colours and kinds, plus a lot more of regular sized wisterias and a lot more flower plants of all kinds. Had to say, for some reason with all the flowers the air wasn’t at all full of their scent. I even got a wisteria flavoured ice cream, wich was probably a wisteria coloured ice cream cause it didn’t have any real particular taste. The place was packed with Japanese people and foreigners like me you could count them on the fingers of one hand. I arrived there early, so by early afternoon I was satisfied with my visit and moved away. A quick check on my train app and google maps and realized I could reach Kawagoe from there fairly easily.
ASHIKAGA FLOWER PARK OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 10
When I was on the train it stopped at the Tochigi station, it looked nice from the train so I decided to jump off and check the area a bit, because sometime I do that kind of things, and the idea wasn’t bad at all: the town itself doesn’t look anything special but there’s a canal wich was very picturesque, plus it was fully decorated with paper carps because of the time of the year and Japanese people were doing boat rides on the river on traditional little boats while singing songs. I won't say to go there specifically to see the place, but if you're on that train route or still around it, it might be worth a stop. So, once I finished checking the area I jump back on the train and finally reached Kawagoe.
TOCHIGI: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 6 ½
Kawagoe is a small place north of Tokyo, not very far, wich is know for a small neighbourhood with old Edo houses. That neighbourhood is more far from the station that I expected, but still nice and worth a check. There’s a very cool bell tower there and one of the coolest Starbucks I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t spend a whole day in Kawagoe if you ask me but If you’re in Tokyo and have an half day available that you don't know how to spend I’d say it’s totally worth a train ride. Had my dinner there and then moved back to Omiya where I would spend my last night.
KAWAGOE: OTBP: 7 OVERALL: 7
Day 3: woke up early, jumped on the train and moved to Sendai where I had planned to stay the next three nights. Once again Omiya was a good choice cause I could take the shinkansen right from there without having to move back to Tokyo.
Arrived in Sendai, left my luggage in the hotel where I couldn’t check in cause it was still to early and hopped on a local train in direction of Matsushima. By midday I was already in Matsushima. This is another very famous destination for Japanese people, one of the most known panoramas in japan. Have to say, the town is a typical sea town, definitely welcoming. I had one of the best Sushi I ever had in japan in a local restaurant ( check matsushima sushi kou if interested ). Visited Zuiganji temple and then walked a bit on the coast, crossed the Fukuurabashi bridge, the long red bridge that you probably have seen in some picture, and walked around Fukuurajima. Here you can have a walk around the island it’s not small but is small enough that you can walk it all fairly quickly and it has some nice spots to discover. You have to pay a small fee to cross the bridge. Then went back, checked the Godaido of Zuiganji and it’s worth mentioning that when walking along the coast I’ve stumbled across a couple of signs giving instructions on what to do in case of a tsunami and what happened back in 2011, wich I didn’t even think about up until that moment and suddenly the memories went back to what happened there more than 10 years ago. Last thing, my advice is to walk down to Oshima island. This little island is less crowded, you can reach it crossing a little red bridge and honestly to me it’s the best spot to admire Matsushima. I didn’t went for the ferry ride across the bay cause the weather wasn’t very good and I was starting to be a little short on time, so I moved back to Sendai.
MATSUSHIMA: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 8 ½
Once back in Sendai, I went to see the sunset from the panoramic floor of the AER building near the station, wich is totally free even if finding the right elevator that takes you up might be a bit tricky, but the view is totally worth it, you can even see in the distance the big white shape of the dai-kannon and from the other side of the floor you can easily see the sea.
Talking about Sendai, I didn’t dedicate to the city the time that should have been necessary because I was always on day trips and I spend there mostly the late evenings, but my impression is that Sendai is a very nice city that should appear more often in peoples itineraries. The city is particularly vibrant and alive, lot of young people, lot of things to see and do, a covered shopping street that is almost endless full of restaurants and shops, way more green than many other Japanese cities. I’d recommend anyone who had the time and the opportunity to spend a little time here. Also it has a very distinctive identity and everything proudly revolves around the image of its founder Date Masamune who is everywhere in senday, even the penguin of the local DonQuishotte mall was dressed up as Date Masamune.
So after the panorama, I went in the hotel, finally checked in and then moved back to look for food. Walked down what I think is called ichibancho street, wich as I said before is an endless downtown road full of shops and restaurant and stopped to have a try at the most famous local dish, Gyutan, wich is grilled cow tongue. Never had tongue in my life and have to admit it, it’s not bad at all, I quite enjoyed it. Had a little more walk around then called it a day.
SENDAI: OTBP: 7 ½ OVERALL: 9
Day 4: today trip is to Hiraizumi, a UNESCO world heritage site, where you can admire some historically significant buddhist sites. You had to catch a coincidence in Ichinoseki but the whole ride is pretty straight forward and doesn’t really take much time. At 9 am I was already ready to explore. As I sad I’m a walker, so I walked the walk from the station to the Chuson Ji temple wich is around 2 km and I totally recommend it cause the town is quite nice to walk through, very small village, very cozy and intimate. Chuson Ji it’s a very beautiful complex to explore, it’s inside a forest, kinda reminds a bit of Nikko atmosphere if you’ve been there even if the buildings aren’t as spectacular. The whole wood was full of blossoming plants and here and there I was able to spot some late cherry tree still full of flowers, giving me an hint to what sakura must really be.
You stumble in the temple buildings one after another while you go deep into the wood. I reach the main building and there’s a ceremony in progress. I discovered later that the next day was planned the Fujiwara festival where all people dress up like in Edo period and do a parade in the city. The day I was there instead the children parade was planned, so it was full of kids dressed up and judging by how proud and elegant their parents were I tend to think it was a pretty big thing for them. I enjoy the situation for a while, then went back to exploring, till I reached the main attraction of the temple wich is the Konjikido, a golden pavilion that dates back to the XII century wich is amazing to see in person.
Once I finished exploring the whole Chuson Ji complex I went looking for a restaurant and had a nice ramen set, because the visit took the whole morning, then moved to the second stop wich was Motsuji Temple: as much as Chuson Ji impressed me, Motsu-ji disappointed me. The thing is, you pay to enter and in the end what you see is a place mostly empty, where the only building there are reconstructions and most places are just a bunch of rocks with signs saying “here once was this building” “here once was that building” and the main thing you’ll see there is a pond whose importance is that it dates back to the time when Japanese gardens were kinda dull compared to what they’ll become centuries later. So it’s kinda a pond that you would completely ignore in a different context. I mean, I totally get the historical importance of this place, but, honestly from the ignorant eyes of a tourist it’s really nothing you would invest your time visiting, according to my opinion.
Another place that would have been worth visiting was Takkoku-no Iwaya Bishamondo, but isn’t really that easy to reach, it’s a bit far to walk to and I was once again out of time, therefore I decided to skip it and went back to the station and to sendai where I again went to look for something to eat and had a little night stroll, nothing worth mentioning.
HIRAIZUMI: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 8
Day 5: today I decided to go to Kakunodate. The town is a easily reachable by train from sendai but a bit far compared to the day before. Went off the station and once again started walking. The place is known mainly for its many samurai houses, all indications point to them so it’s not possible to miss them. The town itself for the little I’ve seen doesn’t really seem to offer much apart from that but the samurai distict it’s nice. Many of the houses have been converted into small museums, that you can visit paying a small fee. I entered one of them, there was a little tour showing the history of the city and the history of the family of samurai living there. Among the things you could do you had the chance even to hold a real katana ( it felt quite a clumsy and top heavy sword compared to what I had imagined ). In fairness, to my taste, there isn’t much to do apart from visiting the samurai district, yes you can visit the local museum, do some craft shopping ( I bought a very nice box made of cherry bark there wich is a typical local craft ) therefore after a late lunch I was back to Sendai. In my opinion if you want to see a Samurai district you can also go to Kanazawa and there’s much more to see there overall compared to Kakunodate, but if you like the atmosphere of a smaller village instead of a big city and you like something more “off the beaten path” then I’d say go to kakunodate.
KAKUNODATE: OTBP: 8 ½ OVERALL: 6 ½
Given i was back to sendai relatively early, that gave me the opportunity to walk ( yes I walked even there ) to see the dai-kannon. The walk was nice, it took me through some very quiet neighbourhood that you wouldn’t normally visit. When I reached the statue It was too late to go inside it but I still had a good view of it. That is a quite impressive sight, you almost have difficulty to grasp the actual size of it. The area around the statue has really nothing to offer, therefore my honest suggestion is take a ride with the sightseeing bus and use that to reach it and once you’re finished with the statue move to a more interesting spot.
And this was my last day in Sendai. My plan at this point was to book two nights at Koriyama but probably because of the golden week I wasn’t able to find a hotel to my liking there therefore I decided to book one night in Fukushima and the next night in Koriyama. These were the two more expensive nights of all my trip and still ended up spending only around 70 € a night.
Day 6: plan for the day: leave the luggage in the hotel, visit Yamadera, go back to sendai, pick up the luggage and move to fukushima to spend the night. Yamadera is truly easy to reach from Sendai and a very recommended destination if you happen to be in Sendai. The place is mostly known for a temple that is reachable walking an abundant number of steps up a hillside. You reach the town, wich Is a very little and cozy village in the mountains west from Sendai and the temple is very close to the station so it’s not possible to miss it. You can tell the whole village revolves around the temple but it still maintain an authentic spirit. Lots of restaurants and little shops to visit on the road that brings to the temple. The temple itself is very “vertical” : sets of stone stairs will lead you up the side of the hills, till you reach the main building and a couple of satellite building where you’ll be rewarded by an amazing view on the village below. If you don’t mind stairs you’ll be rewarded with a very relaxing atmosphere. Here too given the latitude and the altitude I’ve been able to enjoy a couple of late blossoming cherry trees. The weather was amazing that day and all the gardens where full of flowers, this made the whole trip particularly enjoyable. Luckly I’m an early bird because later in the day the place was really packed with visitors. Once I was finished I had a nice set of Yamagata Dashi Soba in a typical restaurant with Tatamis low tables and a beautiful view on the river that cuts in half the village.
YAMADERA: OTBP: 10 OVERALL 9
After a late lunch I jumped back to the train, went back to sendai to pickup the luggage and moved to the next stop, Fukushima. Here I had the first disappointment of my trip. As my usual I booked a hotel that was close to the main train station, wich is usally the place where you want to be. I had a walk around there and the impression I got from Fukushima was that the place was miserable, a place that has really nothing much to offer to a tourist and not even to a citizen because compared to all the other places I’ve been in japan the impression was that even the locals weren’t as lively and enjoying life that much. I hope I’m not offending anyone and for sure I can’t give a proper review of the place after just an evening spent there, but the impression I got was of one of those town, that you can find in every country you'll visit, where young people can’t wait to get old enough to run away from.
FUKUSHIMA: OTBP: 9 ½ OVERALL: 4
DAY 7: wake up in fukushima, move to Koriyama, leave the luggage at the hotel, and then visit Ouchi-Juku and Aizu Wakamatsu. If you’re wondering, the thing is doable but you need to move early. Once you reach Koriyama you take the local train for Aizu Wakamatsu. There you jump on another local train, wich isn’t entirely operated by JR so you’ll have to pay a ticket, to Yunokami Onsen station where you end up in one of the coolest train stations in japan because it’s built in the style of a traditional house with wooden interiors and a straw roof, and it has a feet onsen right outside where you can wait the train while bathing your feet in thermal water, how cool is that?
From here you take a bus and reach Ouchi Juku. On paper it sounds harder than it actually is but you have to plan your trip properly. Ouchi Juku is a post town all made of traditional houses that reminds you a bit of Shirakawa Go, I frankly don’t know how it isn’t more popular among foreigners cause it’s truly a one of a kind place. Most probably is because it’s so off the beaten path and hard to reach. Still it’s extremely popular among Japanese people because the place was crowded and, when I left, the car traffic was stuck by how many people where trying to reach the place by car. I have to tell you in all honestly the place is probably a bit too touristy because there’s not a single house that isn’t turned into a gift shop or a restaurant. But still the place is so charming and picturesque that is totally worth a visit, plus the surrounding woods, mountains and rice field really act like a frame around the most beautiful picture. So I spend the morning here and around 2 pm I move back to Aizu, because there are really not many bus runs in the evening taking you back to Yunokami Onsen and you better reach the place early.
OUCHI JUKU: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 9
That gives me the opportunity to visit Aizu Wakamatsu. Ive heard about the city for its castle and for the legend of the Byakko Tai. I get off to Aizu Wakamatsu main station and walk across town till I reach the castle. Keep in mind it’s Saturday and along the whole walk I might have crossed three people. The city was deserted and one thing I’ve learned is, if people on a Saturday evening flee a city like that, then there isn’t much to do or see there, and that’s the impression I got, kinda like Fukushima, probably even worse. Still, I reached the castle: the park is very nice, the castle is a beautiful Japanese castle but, to my understanding it’s a modern reconstruction cause the original castle was lost during the Meiji restoration as Aizu was one of the spots that rised against the emperor. At least around the castle there were now many people. From the castle, wich I didn’t visit inside, I went back to the train station, this time I reached Nanukamachi station and I have to admit it the area there seemed more alive and interesting to stroll around than the area around main Aizu station, therefore maybe I just walked across the wrong part of the town, I honestly can’t tell.
AIZU: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 6
From Aizu I finally moved by train to Koriyama. I really didn’t spend enough time there to have a proper opinion but the impression I got was of a laid back place, more relaxing than sendai and definitely more alive than fukushima. If I had more time I’d probably give it a shot for a day visit, it might be a surprise.

DAY 8: by this day I ended up with a terrible sore throath that I had to endure almost till my last day in japan. I never had a fever but there was definitely something going around, I kept hearing many Japanese people coughing on trains all around japan so there was definitely something going around, maybe it’s just the season changing, it happens during this season all the times to have some cold or cough. Anyway, the day I had to wake up early and move from Koriyama to Nagoya by Shinkansen, wich was a considerably long trip but at least it gave me the opportunity to take probably the best picture I’ve ever take of mount fuji, from the train. Once in Nagoya I left the luggage in the hotel ( wich, thanks probably to the fact that the golden week just ended, I happened to book for 4 nights for a whopping 25€ a night wich was a total steal even for current Japanese standard prices ). There I immediately jumped on another train and went to visit Inuyama.
The area around Nagoya is a bit tricky cause it’s full of railroads operated by a company that is not JR wich are not covered by the JR Pass but there’s a JR station a bit to the north of Inuyama that will do the job. The place is totally recommended for three reason: it’s overall nice, with the Kiso river cutting it, the castle is one of the few original ones and even if small is considered a national treasure and the whole area around the castle is very nice and worthy to spend some time on. So I visited the castle, the view from the top floor is awesome and in a clear day you can easily spot the skyline of Nagoya. Outside the castle there’s an edo style street full of shops, restaurants and street food that is nice to explore, totally recommended a walk there.
INUYAMA: OTBP: 8 ½ OVERALL: 10
Coming back to Nagoya I just had energy to look for food then I went back to my hotel for a good night of sleep.
DAY 9: a day trip from Nagoya to Ise. The trip isn’t that easy, you got to take a couple of trains if you move only by JR ( and a couple of stops of one of them aren’t even JR operated wich is a little confusing honestly ) and you end up in Iseshi station. From there I moved to Ise Jingu Geku, wich is the outer sanctuary and from there you can take a bus ( guess what, I walked instead ) to the main Ise sanctuary. If you don’t know Ise Jingu is the most sacred place in the Shinto religion and is regularly visited even by the emperor given his role in the Shinto religion. Inside the main temple one of the most sacred relics of Shinto religion is preserved.
Well, being totally honest here’s my impressions of Ise: it’s not simple to reach. The city itself, for what I’ve seen, looks like it has seen better days, meaning it looks like it’s falling apart. And the temples, there’s really not that much to see: they are in a forest, and the temples are not that spectacular, plus the most interesting parts are forbidden to visit. You can go to Atsuta Jingu without moving out from Nagoya and have a fairly realistic impression of what you would see in Ise without all the issues. I know people will attack me for what I’m saying, but that is what I’ve got from it. The most fun part was the edo style neighborhood that you can find right before entering the main Isu complex, wich looks almost like a theme park. I don’t say don’t go there, I say if you are, as you are probably, on borrowed time, with lots of places you want to visit and too few days to see them all, if Ise is in your list you might want to use the day to see something else.
ISE: OTBP: 6 ½ OVERALL: 6 ½
DAY 10: I decided to spend the day in Nagoya and take a look of the city, thanks also to the weather that was a bit rainy and really not inviting for another day trip. What I’ve seen in a day is the samurai exposition in Marunouchi. It’s free and it’s totally worth it, lots of beautiful samurai armours and swords. There’s another exposition that opened not many years ago that you can go nto too far but I didn’t visit so I can’t tell about that. From here I went to Nagoya castle. You pay to enter the complex but currently the Castle is under restoration and you can see it from outside ( it’s very impressive, Nagoya and Osaka castles are massive ) but not visit from inside. But the Honmaru Palace right beside it is open and totally worth a visit. From here took the subway ( yeah today I didn’t walk much so I got a subway day pass ) to the Osu Shotengai Shopping District, wich is the usual kind of covered shopping streets nest you can find in all the Japanese cities, and then moved again to Atsuta Jingu Shrine that, as I said, to me is a completely valid alternative to visiting Ise. The day went by without even noticing and I couldn’t see all the other places I had picked, like the Toyota museum, the tokugawa museum or the science museum, but that’s what you get when you only have one day dedicated to visit a city as big as Nagoya. Still I had time to get an impression of the city and I honestly don’t get the bad reputation it has among foreigners, the city looked to me quite interesting, nice, full of things to see and the people felt particularly laid back compared to cities like Tokyo or Osaka, it’s probably the place where I’ve seen the biggest number of tanned Japanese in all the country. To me Nagoya is totally worth at least two or three days dedicated only to visiting the city.
NAGOYA: OTBP: 5 OVERALL: 9
DAY 11: my original plan was to walk the Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago. But the weather that day was kinda shit, I wasn’t feeling particularly In the mood of a walk because of my throath and I was starting to feel a bit tired, so I improvised and went for a day in Takayama and Gero Onsen. Takayama is pretty famous. I went there around 20 years ago and I remembered it as a very nice place. Getting back now, with all the Japanese places I’ve seen so far, I would say this: the train trip to Takayama is Spectacular, is a truly feast for the eyes. The town itself, it left me a little disappointed. The Edo style streets that its famous for, I’ve seen so many of them at that point around japan that it didn’t really leave a significant impression on me. And it was honestly smaller than I remembered it. Plus the weather, as I said, didn’t help. So overall the reality didn’t stand up to my memories and my expectations. Plus most of the houses there have now been turned in cheap souvenir shops with nothing giving you an authentic feeling. Don’t know, probably I wasn’t really in the mood that day.
TAKAYAMA: OTBP: 2 OVERALL: 6 ½
I took the opportunity on the way back to stop at Gero Onsen. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to actually stop for an onsen cause overall the whole day wasn’t planned and I mainly improvised. Still the town is very nice and probably, having no expectations or no knowledge of it, even more worth visiting than Takayama. Had a nice walk around the town, and at least had the opportunity to “feel” the thermal water cause there’s plenty of fountains with hot spring water where you can rest your feet or your hands. It was enough to make me aware that a proper onsen there must be a very enjoyable experience.
GERO ONSENS: OTBP: 8 OVERALL: 8
And after this I went to Nagoya where I spent my last night in the city.

DAY 12: moving to Fukuoka ( Hakata ). I booked a hotel near Hakata station so I jumped on the shinkansen and moved there. The ride was as confortable as any shinkansen ride can be and I reached the place sooner than I imagined. First thing was a good look of the city from the panoramic floor in the station. Then had a walk to the Canal City mall wich is a very weirdly and interesting designed mall that is a very popular location in town. Had a walk from there to Nakasu island where I got a quick dinner considering it was already time, and had another walk around the area wich unfortunately will turn out to be my only experience of Fukuoka. I’ll spend here three nights but the following days will be so full that won’t give me any chance to visit the town more, so in the end I don’t really have an opinion on Fukuoka if not that I should probably have spent more time there, but unfortunately the days you have are numbered and there’s so much to see that you have to give up something here and there, so i won't even give a vote to the city.
DAY 13: Destination is Kagoshima that it’s easily reachable by train. I went there with no real expectation and I was totally blown away. Something clicked and I instantly liked the town, I must say that probably the fact that one of the most beautiful girls I’ve seen in japan out of the blue started a conversation with me on the train probably helped a lot in putting me in a good mood.
From the station I walked downtown till the coast. On the way I stopped shopping a bit, found a local market where local artisans that day were exposing their crafts wich I liked a lot and went to the top floor of the Centerrace Mall to get a panoramic view of the city with an amazing view on Sakurajima volcano. If you don’t know it’s the symbol of the city and it’s said to be almost always active, the whole day I’ve been there he kept puffing little clouds of smoke from time to time, it was very cool. So, once reached the cost I walked ( you should know it by now ) till I reached Sengan-En wich is the garden and the palace of a local lord and it’s very beautiful, totally worth a visit, also compared to many other places in japan, this is more modern and therefore more unique both in the architecture of the palace and the style of the garden. I’d say if you are in Kagoshima you won’t regret visiting it ( maybe don’t do like me and take a bus cause it’s more than 6 km from the station ). After visiting Sengan En I went back to the ferries and took a ferry to Sakurajima. The ferry is very cheap, 200 yen, and quick to reach it’s destination, but on Sakurajima there’s really not much to do if you don’t plan to use a bus or some other kind of transportation. Since it was already evening, I had nothing planned and I had to go back to Hakata, I just took the time to have a walk on the Lava Trail wich is a walk in a natural park that has grown over an old lava flow, wich is a quite unique thing that I enjoyed more than I expected. Then I went back to Kagoshima, had dinner and moved back to Hakata. I have to say I really enjoyed Kagoshima, the city has a unique vibe, very laid back, the people seemed to be relaxed and happy and were much more open toward foreigners than anywhere I’ve experienced. If I’ll ever be back in japan I’ll surely manage to spend some more time in Kagoshima. I took the train and I was back in hakata at around midnight so I went straight to bed in hotel
KAGOSHIMA: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 10
Day 14: Nagasaki. Another fairly easy destination to reach from Fukuoka. The city itself is very narrow and develops around its river. As a tourist I was immediately attracted to its atomic bomb museum, wich is north from the station. I went there, you don’t say, by foot.
And later, once I’ve done with the atomic bomb part, the Nagasaki near the sea.
And here starts the tale of the two Nagasaki, because it feels like two different places in one. The north part, wich I didn’t enjoy much, felt a bit neglected and it’s mostly houses where people live. And it’s the part where you’ll see more tourists because as I said all the atomic spots are there.
On the other hand the south part near the city was to me much more alive and full of life, I’m no expert but that’s probably where the locals like to spend their free time and on the other hand you’ll see way less tourists here.
Back to the morning, I did what most tourists do, and visited the atomic bomb museum, the peace park, the ipocenter, and went also to see the half standing torii that is one of the few authentic places left as testament of the bombing, around the city. Talking about the museum, I’ve been to both thins and Hiroshima and, even if Hiroshima is bigger and with much more to see, I would suggest if one has the opportunity to visit also the Nagasaki one, it absolutely has its own legs to stand on. On a side note, out of 10 visitors, 9 were foreigners, I guess Japanese already know their history and don’t feel the need to visit such a place on a nice Sunday morning.
The peace park it’s a park, there you can see the famous statue wich is one of the main symbols of Nagasaki and that, if you ask me, is one of the ugliest statues you can find in the world, but still if you’re in Nagasaki you probably don’t want to miss it.
After lunch I moved to the sea side, here I’ve seen DeiJima wich is the former artificial island where the Portuguese were segregated centuries ago, very interesting place, kinda like a mix of an open air museum and a theme park, felt a little bit plastic but still worth some of your time.
Then had a walk to the near seaside park wich is a very nice and relaxing place where flocks of eagles fly so low over your head that if you rise your hand you can almost touch them, and pretty much ended the day there before having to go back to Fukuoka.
NAGASAKI: OTBP: 5 OVERALL: 7 ½

Day 15 – 16 - 17: my last full days in japan. I was in need of some rest at this point and I needed to move closer to Narita where I had booked my flight for day 18, so i spent more than half of day 15 to transfer from Hakata to Tokyo. I booked my last hotel for three nights near Otsuka station, wich if you ask me is a nice spot to stay in Tokyo. When I arrived in the evening there was a rose festival and all around the station there were roses bushes in flower and there were people singing and the whole station looked alive but also quiet, if you like a place to stay In Tokyo that it’s not chaotic like Shinjuku or Shibuya I’d recommend Otsuka.
The last days aren’t really worth mentioning, I’ve spent most of the time shopping for souvenirs, and recovering for all the travel i did the two weeks before. I explored a couple of places worth mentioning that not everyone ever goes to in Tokyo, like Nakano Broadway ( a weird shopping district that feels like a little Akiabara ), Nippori where there’s a little known street nice for shopping, or Chiba where there’s one of the biggest mall in japan but apart from that nothing much that you can read in the report of anyone who have been to Tokyo.
And with this, I think I can conclude my report. If you want me to upload some picture and you have a site to suggest me where it’s easy to upload and you don’t have to make an account let me know and if there’s enough interest I will oblige as soon as I’ve finished downloading all the pictures from my phone.

Weekly Recap 05/12/24-05/18/24: 81 Posts
"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world... would do this, it would change the earth." William Faulkner
This is the weekly recap of the 81 monetized posts from Kylea and Joseph "Joe" Gomez of Kylea G Weight loss Journey from 05/12/24-05/18/24.
They have made 690+ monetized posts in 6 weeks.
Disclaimers: I am not a physician, influencer, or paid content creator. I am not affiliated with WW. I am semi-retired from the healthcare field with multiple college degrees. These opinions are my own based on social media content. I wish no harm to Kylea or Joe Gomez.
☎️ If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, please call or text 988 for assistance.
📢 To the perfectionists, Kylea has a habit of heavily editing posts 3+ times and archiving/hiding and deleting posts. I do not have a burner account for Facebook and have not viewed every comment made. She does not post receipts and is secretive about her purchases.
The tagline of Kylea G Weight loss Journey is, "I changed my entire life with prayer and a playlist of songs. No surgery, no meds. Just Jesus."
Of the 81 monetized posts last week on the topic of faith:
0/81 discussed which version of the Bible she prefers
0/81 revealed her church home, a service she attended online/in person, or how she worships when traveling
0/81 discussed a personal/group Bible study she completes/attends
0/81 were a favorite scripture or Bible verse
Of the 81 monetized posts last week on the topic of music:
3/81 referenced music Kylea prefers= she mentioned upcoming summer concerts and vague references to listening to music on a trip.
Of the 81 monetized posts last week on the topic of health:
5/81 were about sightseeing or casual walking outside on a trip
0/81 shared a food, water, or exercise log
0/81 discussed meditation, deep breathing, attending grief group, or therapy for her mental health.
0/81 shared reputable medical sources for nutrition or weight loss content. (She mentions WW points but does not list a website or how to access their app.)
0/81 shared a recommendation for another weight loss influencer to follow
0/81 shared a source for her recipes
4/81 shared a recipe. Shared recipes below.

1. Cherry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
2. Pretzel Salad
3. Taco Soup 🚨 High Sodium
4. Taco Soup Rice Bowls 🚨 High Sodium

⚠️ Disordered Eating- Daily WW Points Consumed (based on monetized content):
Sun 05/12: 4 daily WW points & 25 weekly WW points; Mon 05/13: 14 daily WW points & 0 weekly WW points; Tue 05/14: 11 daily WW points & 0 weekly WW points; Wed 05/15: 8-9 daily WW points & 0 weekly WW points; Thu 05/16: 11 daily WW points & 0 weekly WW points; Fri 05/17: 10 daily WW points & 0 weekly WW points; Sat 05/18: 4 daily WW points & 0 weekly WW points;
📢 To our friends at Meta, Kylea can consume up to 30 WW points per day, roll over 4 unused daily points, and consume 28 weekly points. She is clearly underutilizing her daily points and weekly points. This is dangerous and potentially deadly messaging for those on a weight loss journey. She has 139k+ followers. 🚨
So what was Kylea's "weight loss content" about? Let's dive into her purchases to find out.
Her subtotal from 05/12/24-05/18/24= $2,007.67 est + all applicable taxes, tips, and fees
Her 6-week subtotal from 04/07/24-05/18/24 was $19,141.21 est + all applicable taxes, tips, and fees
🚨 Per Missouri public court records, Kylea Gomez has not satisfied her current medical judgment and is only able to pay $25 per month.
This next section is long due to the volume of purchases. You've been warned...
Weekly Takeout Purchases= $430.93 est + tips and fees
Sunday 05/12/24 SalTea Sloth Tea with Energy: $8 est + tip;
Monday 05/13/24 Donut Holes for sister: $3.50 est; In-N-Out for 2: $11.75 est; Bahama Buck's Shaved Ice for 2: $9.18 + tip; Whataburger for Joe (Unknown food): $8 est;
Tuesday 05/14/24 Flor & Seed coffee for KG: $6 est + tip; Unknown Flor & Seed for sister: $6 est + tip; Kono's Surf Club Bfast for 2: $23 est + tip; Unknown Sushi Restaurant for sister: $12 est + tip; Unknown coffee shop for KG: $15 est + tip; Unknown Hibachi delivery for Joe: $25 est + tip/delivery fees; 7-Eleven Slurpees for 2: $5 est;
Wednesday 05/15/24 Parakeet Cafe latte for KG: $6.50 est + tip; Unknown beverage for sister: $6.50 est + tip; Morning Glory bfast for KG: $20 est + tip; Unknown bfast for sister: $20 est + tip; Juice Hut pressed juice for KG: $10 est + tip; Unknown beverage for sister: $10 est + tip; Arby's delivery for Joe: $25 est + tip/delivery fees; Unknown Restaurant (Salad): $15 est + tip; Unknown dinner for sister: $15 est + tip; Poppi, Quest Bar & Fresh Pineapple: $10 est;
Thursday 05/16/24 Fig Tree Cafe Bfast for KG: $18 est + tip; Unknown bfast for sister: $20 est + tip; Coyote Cafe lunch for KG: $15 est + tip; Unknown lunch for sister: $15 est + tip; Muscle Milk & Quest bar: $7 est;
Friday 05/17/24 Unknown bfast restaurant for KG: $18 est + tip; Possible bfast for sister: $18 est + tip; Starbucks for Lunch for KG: $15 est + tip; Possible lunch for sister: $15 est + tip; Muscle Milk for KG: $3.50 est;
Saturday 05/18/24 Crazy Llama takeout for 2: $16 est + tip;
🚨 These additional shopping/travel expenses do NOT reflect her rent, utilities, phone, 2 car payments, etc.
Additional shopping/travel expenses= $1,576.74 + all applicable taxes, tips, and fees
⚠️ CBD aka Shopping Addiction: Most of the purchases were due to her California trip or for her future puppy.
Sunday 05/12/24 Blue Hydrangea: $24.82 est; Fresh cut 2 dozen roses: $39.94 est; Iced cookie cake: $44.99 est; Items in Mother's Day gift bag: Unknown;
Monday 05/13/24 Barebell Protein Bar: $2.45 est; Alani Nu Energy Drinks x2: $4.96 est; Gas Joplin, MO to Fort Worth, TX: (373 mi est/33mpg) x $3.85 est = $43.52; Gas Fort Worth, TX to Dallas, TX: (33 mi est/33mpg) x $3.85 est = $3.73 est; Bocce's Coconut Macaroon Crunchy Biscuits 5 oz bag Qty 2: $12.98 est; Bocce's Sauvignon Bark Soft & Chewy 6 oz bag Qty 2: $13.58 est; Bocce's Burger & Fries All-Natural Dog Treats Qty 2: $9.08 est; PetStages Grow-with-Me Ring Dog Chew Toy: $5.24 est; Pet Botanics Training Rewards Soft & Chewy Bacon Flavor 20 oz bag Qty 2: $27.98 est; Undercoat Rake Grooming Tool: $10.25 est; Paw Print Fabric Storage Bin: $12.99 est; Baghler Airline Approved Dog Travel Bag Light Pink- A Backpack with Silicone Bowls & Food Baskets: $34.99 est; Fabric Strawberry Harness & Leash: $17.99 est; Black Nylon Training Leash: $8.95 est;
Tuesday 05/14/24 Two One-way Airline Tickets (Unknown Carrier): $98 est + fees; Airport Parking (up to 50% off with prebook): $16 est; San Diego Flyer transport (unknown if this service used or a ride share): $0; Premier Shake, Protein bar & fruit: $10 est; Unknown San Diego Accommodations: $120 est + fees;
Wednesday 05/15/24 Unknown San Diego Accommodations: $120 est + fees; Airport Parking (up to 50% off with prebook): $16 est; Barks & Crafts Dog Bandanas Qty 2: $34 est; Go City Pass All-Inclusive 3 day for 2 Adults: $488;
Thursday 05/16/24 Unknown San Diego Accommodations: $120 est + fees; Airport Parking (up to 50% off with prebook): $16 est;
Friday 05/17/24 Airport Parking (up to 50% off with prebook): $16 est; Return Flight for KG (Unknown Carrier): $82 est + fees; Possible Return Flight for Sister (Unknown Carrier): $82 est + fees; Mileage Dallas, TX to Joplin, MO: (350 mi est/33mpg) x $3.85 est = $40.83 est
Saturday 05/18/24 None
🤔 Final Thoughts 🤔
Kylea is mentally ill with a serious eating disorder. The vast majority of her monetized content is not about health or weight loss. Meta, please follow your policies and take action. It is time to demonetize and deplatform Kylea G Weight loss Journey.
All info from Reddit. ✌️

This situation is far more complicated and has been years in the making. If you want a rundown, I’ve put a TLDR at the bottom. I truly just need a space for me to type out my story and possibly maybe hear similar stories if anyone can relate. This is an extremely long post, and there’s a chance I ramble, so just as a warning
I’ll give some background before I say my case: I (22F) have been suspicious of my dad (50M) for the better part of my life. I have diagnosed anxiety and for the most part, I’ve thought my ideas and skepticisms on the matter as just intrusive thoughts. My dad and I have l always had a weird relationship. It doesn’t change how much I love him though. Even as I sit here today, I can’t in good conscience say I hate my dad. I love my dad. Even in his bad moments and questionable behaviors, hes my dad and usually my biggest of supporters. I think because of his bipolar nature it makes this situation so hard.
My mom and dad have been married for 25 years. Like I said before, they have four kids, both come from strict Catholic families, and share the same group of friends. On the outside, everyone can tell my dad loves my mom. He worships the ground she walks on, splurges on expensive gifts for her and is pretty openly affectionate. My mom, however, has never been vocal on her affections, inside and out of the house. Honestly, I can see how this affects my dad. Over the years, they’ve gotten shorter with each other, dad lashes out a bit more (something I’d say to remember as you keep reading), and will disappear into the night after a harsh argument.
I’d say this is where I start to get weird feelings on him. We all have a joint Life360. All of us, including our parents, can see where we are at all times. I’m fine with this, given at the time of this starting I was 20 and in college and I understand why a parent would want their kids locations. When checking the app, I started to notice my dad’s location being off at weird intervals of the night. If you have Life360, you’d know that it will tell you someone’s location has been turned off. Naturally, I’d ask my dad and he’d laugh it off saying his app was screwed up and he wasn’t sure why it was doing that and then 20 minutes later his location would be back on. Whatever, fine. The locations would only turn off around 11 P.M. on random evenings, usually when he was in town. He’d still throw the excuse that it was because he was just flying and airplane mode screws up Life360 (which isn’t true btw).
Anyways, I guess the meat of this story starts December of 2022. Dad’s anger is at weird levels. He’s arguing with my mom more and turning off his location. Me, being stupid, accused him of acting weird a few days before Christmas. Naturally he gets defensive and starts to say things like I’d never cheat on your mom, how could you accuse me of things like that, my phone is just wired. I’d argue back that I never accused him of cheating, just that he’s weird. That didn’t help my case. This is where his true character started to show. Threats of I’d cut you off from college (they pay for my schooling, car and phone), yelling at me for not showing respect for him, how he’s done so much for the family. After this argument I’d see him deleting no name contacts off of his phone after a conversation. I brought this up to my mom, and she tells me it’s probably work so I drop it. If my mom’s not worried why should I be.
After Christmas, we fly north to visit family since we’re the only ones down south. During our trip, he’d take my grandparents car (with their permission, these are my moms parents) to run errands for the Christmas parties that will be happening over the next couple of days. Once again, every time he’d go out his location would turn off. The tipping point for me was when he said he was going to fill up my grandparents car with gas. They live 5 minutes from a gas station. We had a reservation in an hour with his dad that we cannot be late to. My dad knew this. He was gone for an hour. Location off. He’s not contacting anyone, including my mom, on where he is. When he gets back, 5 minutes after when we were supposed to leave, he tells us all that there was an accident at the gas station and they needed him for a witness support. I shoot him down asking why his location was off and why he didn’t tell anyone this in front of my siblings, mom, and grandparents. They all laugh like it’s a joke but once I look at him he’s fuming. He tells me to get in the car so we can get to dinner.
Once we all pile in for dinner he screams at me, once again repeating the things he said before Christmas and how dare I accuse him of anything in front of his in-laws. When we finally parked the car and started to walk into the restaurant, he screams at me in the parking lot. My cousins and grandfather are standing outside watching him berate me in public. I’m 20 years old and he’s treating me like I’m 5. He told me he was going to stop paying for school and my rent this upcoming school year to teach me a lesson. I have never seen my father like this before, and true to his word, I paid for the first two months of my Spring 2023 school year. After some convincing from my mom, my dad texts me in March to not worry about the rent. I think after this is where I truly realize what’s at stake and what more I could lose if I try something like this again, and I never once verbally said he was cheating to anyone. Besides I had no proof.
In between this period, my mom and I have a huge heart to heart. I confess to her that her relationship with my dad is not something I view healthy, and I’m fearful that my marriage one day will look like theirs. I tell her I think she’s treated unfairly behind closed doors and she needs to step up for herself. She agrees but once I bring up divorce, she laughs and says she’d never in a million years consider that. She’d never get a divorce, and she kept reinforcing that. My parents are super Catholic, so I’m not surprised by this statement, but I feel like this paragraph is important to note.
Jump forward it May 2023. I’m off for the summer, in a limbo between end of the school year and starting my internship, so I’m back home. One evening my parents and I are watching a show in the living room. How we are all positioned makes it that my dad is in front of us. During a commercial break while my mom is getting water, my dad takes out his phone and starts texting, however it’s not on iMessage. It’s on Grindr. The only reason I know it was Grindr is because I have a few gay friends at school and I’ve seen some of their messages before. Honest to god, I’m shocked and paralyzed in my seat. What I’ve been suspicious about for the past half of the year is true. Just not in the sense I thought he was. Excusing myself to my room I go to recollect myself and reach out to two of my closer friends about the situation.
Over the next few months when I visit home, I start to document any instance I see him on the app or turning off his location. I have multiple videos of him texting people on Grindr. I’ve started to hint to my mom that something isn’t right and made out loud comments how weird dads been. Since last May, I’ve told my younger sister (F19) about my dad and showed her some evidence. She refuses to acknowledge the behavior and does not want to do anything about it. We’ll joke about it sometimes behind closed doors but when I bring it up to her today about telling my mom or talking to my dad, she gets fearful and thinks it’s stupid to do.
Which leads us to today. I am a fresh graduate from college. I’ve moved back home and am looking for work. And I know I’m being extremely selfish to everyone in my family for withholding this information. After countless talks with my therapist, she thinks it’s wise to not tell my dad or mom what’s happening, at least currently. Since I have been actually cut off from my dad and my mom has expressed that she doesn’t want a divorce and can’t really be bothered to look into the situation more, my therapist and a few of my friends agree to wait until I’m financially independent and moved out of the house. I think about telling my parents everyday what I know. But then I think of me, and my three younger siblings (the youngest is 13) who are still living at home, and the fact my mom is financially dependent on my dad. And I think the worst part and it makes me feel awful for even typing this, but it feels a bit easier to cope with this because my dad is exclusively talking to men. He’s not cheating on my mom with other women. My sister and I over the holidays looked to see if he had any of the other dating apps and we found nothing.
Honestly, a lot of you all might have read all of this and may still think I should tell my parents asap. Or question why I’m still waiting. I think I’m scared. I think I don’t want things to change. I don’t want to be blamed at or remembered as the daughter who ruined the **** family. I know it’s my dads fault and it’s not on me, but I’m scared I’ll truly lose my dad if I bring this to light. I’m scared my moms life will be flipped upside down forever. I’m scared my younger siblings will resent me for ruining our family and their cushy life will be lost.
I just needed somewhere to write this all down. I needed to get this off of my chest while I sit in my childhood bedroom. I’ve never felt more trapped and guilty in my life. It’s easier to forget that this is happening while I was at school, but now that I’m home, it’s harder to ignore. If anyone has any similar stories I’d love to hear them. There’s a lot more I’m leaving out so if there are questions I’ll try and answer them.
TLDR: was suspicious of my dad for cheating back in 2022 based on some behaviors and was cut off for two months when I asked what was up. Now I know he’s gay and is cheating on my mom and has been for maybe years. Mom doesn’t seem to worry/care about his behavior and Dad is still creeping around. Now that I’m back home the guilt of not saying a word to either of them is building up but I’m scared I’ll lose my family.

Here is a fan made creation on a speculation of the Timeline between Season 4 and 5. Hope you enjoy!!!!

• November 2003- Al Gore gives a White House press conference saying that anyone involved in the Asteroid Heist will be convicted to the fullest extent of the law if they step foot on Earth again.
  
• December 2003- An NSA classified document revealed the harsh interrogation of two Helios employees at Happy Valley Base on Mars during the Goldilocks Asteroid theft by the hands of the CIA and KGB, which ultimately led to the riot that caused one death and multiple injuries, including astronaut Danielle Poole
  
• January 2004- A similar Russian intelligence report revealed the KGB’s interference in both US and Roscosmos space agencies forcing both Madison and Nikulov to trade classified information with each other at the cost both of their careers and lives. The report revealed that forced Madison into an asylum in the USSR and were responsible for Nikulov’s apparent suicide.
  
• February 2004- Administrator Hobson was fired by NASA and former astronaut Will Tyler became the first African-American administrator.
  
• April 2004- The Internet goes public. Facebook, Google, and Amazon are founded that same year.
  
• May 2004- Gore and Korzhenko Riga Summit Talks are a success. They set aside their differences and agreed for the M7 to put billions of dollars into constructing and assembling a permanent mining operation and station on Goldilocks.
  
• June 2004- Ronald Regan dies of Alzheimer's at 82 and the same day former VP James Bragg dies on the campaign trail from a heart attack. the same day. Former POTUS Wilson pays her respects to Reagan. John McCain emerges as the presumptive frontrunner
  
• October 2004- The Boston Red Sox failed to win the World Series as the Mariners beat them in 4-0. Michael Jordan announces retirement from MLB.
  
• November 2004- Incumbent President, Al Gore has narrowly defeated Senator John McCain, 270-268 to win a second term as President. His narrow win comes from easing post-Cold War tensions and advocating for more jobs on Mars and addressing the water crisis in Flint.
  
• December 2, 2004- The “Trial of the Century” ends as Margo Madison was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and up to an additional 8 years for her role in the asteroid theft in a Houston courtroom in which her trial divided the nation.
  
• December 2004- The Indian Tsunami hits but it saved countless lives as seismic technology sensed activity in the ocean and evacuated people there.
  
• February 2005- Construction at Kuznetsov station commences.
  
• April 2005- Britain leaves the European Union and forms the British Coalition of Commonwealth Countries for Spaceflight (BCCS) with countries such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia which joins the M7, becoming the M8.
  
• June 2005- Happy Valley undergoes a five-year major expansion that could house up to 50,000 people and families who would be employed to mine iridium on Goldilocks. It will have mass dormitories, cafeterias, gyms, libraries, classrooms, four greenhouse domes with biospheres, a , a theater, and a spaceport with a Mission Control monitoring air traffic.
  
• September 2005- Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans. President Gore ordered a full evacuation of the city before the levies burst and the water rose which saved lives but damages cost over 20 billion.
  
• November 2005- Calypso which is called Starship by the media reached Mars in 10 days with 500 people breaking the speed record and people. It can transport up to 1,200 people at a time and has the space to transport over 50 billion tons of iridium.
  
• February 2006: Brokeback Mountain wins Best Picture at the Oscars.
  
• March 2006- The first supply of iridium is mined at Kuznetsov Station on Goldilocks as partial construction has finished and economists believe that this iridium could lead to an economic boom on Earth in the coming decade.
  
• May 2006- Life found on Mars! Major microbial algae cells found at the Surface of Korelev Crater.
  
• June 2006- The iPhone is previewed at Apple’s 2006 event. YouTube, and Twitter hit the worldwide web.
  
• August 2006- Pluto demoted as a planet.
  
• September 2006- The Crocodile Man Steve Irwin died.
  
• November 2006- The first supply of iridium from Goldilocks returns back to Earth.
  
• January 2007- Brazil, China, South Africa, Indonesia, South Korea, and Nigeria join the M8 which becomes the M14. The United Nations and the M14 Alliancet came up with the Mars Confederation to oversee governmental and everyday affairs on Mars.
  
• April 2007- Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho is arrested and convicted to life in prison.
  
• May 2007- Madeline McCain disappears from Portugal.
  
• June 2007- Transformers premieres.
  
• August 2007- Al Gore wins a Nobel Peace Prize for hosting peace talks between opposite forces in the Saudi Civil War, effectively ending the war and his continued environmental activism
  
• September 2007- Prince Charles and Camilla die in a Paris car crash leaving millions of fans heartbroken.
  
• 2008- The global and US economies experience the largest economic boom with the mass deposits of iridium from Goldilocks having multiple effects on government agencies and industries around the globe
  
• January 2008- Dark Knight actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his home.
  
• April 2008- Mining operations begin on Phobos and Deimos.
  
• Summer 2008- Breaking Bad, Lost, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica, and HBO’S One Small Step (an alternate TV show wondering if the US landed first on the moon) dominate primetime ratings and Iron Man is the biggest summer event.
  
• August 2008- JFK Jr wins the Democratic nomination for President and chooses Barack Obama as his running mate. Later that month, Mitt Romney chose Sara Palin as his running mate.
  
• November 2008- JFK Jr beats Mitt Romney (306-232) and becomes the 43rd president of the United States.
  
• January 2009- US Airways flight 1549 crashes into the Hudson River killing everyone on board in “The Tragedy on the Hudson”
  
• June 2009- Analog television ends
  
• June 2009- Michael Jackson makes a comeback.
  
• August- October 2009- Usain Bolt beats his time, Balloon Boy, and Party in the USA are the biggest pop culture moments.
  
• Late 2009- The 2010 census reports that over 100,000 people are in space with 55,000 on the moon and over 45,000 on Mars.
  
• January 2010- Haitian Earthquake
  
• Feb 2010- Avatar wins Best Picture and Jodie Foster wins her third Oscar for “Ellen and Pam” as Ellen Wilson beating fellow Best Actress nominee and Emma Thompson as Pam Horton and other actresses Sandra Bullock and Gabriela Sidibe
  
• April 2010- An Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is avoided.
  
• July 2010- Nobel Prize Winners Kelly Baldwin and Aleida Rosales announces a scientific space mission to Ceres in 2013 in order to study outer solar system life form to question whether space travel to the outer solar system is possible and a space exploration to Europa could happen in the end of the decade.
  
• February 2011- Construction of the extended colony of Happy Valley is completed and Kuznetsov Station (is up to par with the S4 flash forward )
  
• February 2011- Tejano singer Selena performs at Super Bowl XLV.
  
• March 2011- Seismic radar senses the Japanese Earthquake plus evacuating everyone and preventing the nuclear disaster.
  
• 2011- South Sudan becomes a new country.
  
• June 2011- Sea Dragon is decommissioned after making its last trip to NASA’S Jamestown base.
  
• October 2011- Old Man Mars celebrates his 80 birthday and Alex Poletov celebrates his Sweet 16 on Mars. John Lennon performs at their birthday.
  
• End of 2011- JFK JR state of the Union address says that “Space Travel is not only possible, but worth it because as my father said, “We chose to go to the moon because it isn’t easy but because it is hard” We have made it far so let’s not sit down and rest. Let’s do this.”
  

When I was in junior high a transfer student arrived in the middle of the semester; a kid that was different from everyone else. Right away he had caught my eye, in fact he caught everyone's attention because he had a very unique disability; he couldn’t speak. I guess you could say he was deaf, though it was clear to me after getting to know him that he could in fact hear; every word spoken to him was understood with simple nods or gestures; facial expressions contorting into understood language; so I guess he was mute; yeah, that would describe him best. He was an oddity to most but to me he was a unicorn, something that sparkled in our dim monotonous lives and it wasn’t until he revealed who he was did I become terrified of him and his shine.
I was in 7th grade maneuvering my way through the jungle of middle school, avoiding trouble and premature violence. I was an undersized boy for my age, no more than 5ft tall; puberty had yet to visit me leaving me left out of the herd; the other students or the ‘sheep’ as I called them that infested my school. They were all the same, kids that were driven by hormones constantly talking about boys or girls, their deep voices riding on the coattails of the wind that breezed in and out of our hallways. I was a mere shadow, always walking a few paces behind the others not wanting to be seen or acknowledged; I saw what others that looked like me went through, they were tortured and abused for simply existing.
Once Bryce Ellis and his friends stuck Timmy Easton’s face in the shitter for over 10 flushes, I was in a stall over, hiding and waiting for the torment to be over. I slithered my feet up on to the stall caressing them to my chest as I sat in a fetal position horrified of how one human could treat another. Eventually the bullies had gotten bored, their short attention span driven minds directed them to another endeavor leaving Timmy to fester in his tears and possible filth.
He sobbed for minutes that felt like hours as I remained silent in the stall over, I placed my hand cautiously on the barrier wall trying to absorb a bit of his pain, my heart ached for him in that moment and I wanted to lend him a compassionate hand if only I had the courage to do so. So yeah, I did my best to stay hidden, unseen to all the dwellers that mindlessly walked in and out of our school on a daily basis, the boys that believed themselves to be men or the girls that pontificated to anyone that listened. I was lost into an enteral sea of vindictive young adults that searched for any reason to lash out at anyone that stood in their way.
So when ‘Tape boy’ — as they would eventually call him — came to my little middle school that stood still in the secluded hills of our small town I was enthralled almost immediately with his existence. He was introduced to my home room class, I sat in the back burying my head into my arms, occasionally lifting my head to listen on the days lecture. My day dreams entertaining me as the clock slowly ticked away at our lives and it wasn’t until my teacher promptly stopped talking did it trigger a primal emotion in me to sit up and pay attention. I postured myself up straight, pausing the internal movie that played in my mind to see what the interruption was about.
There he was, a new boy that no one had ever seen before, by middle school everyone knew each other; we had went to the same elementary school, the same holiday events and grocery stores. So getting a new student was like getting a new flavor at Baskin Robbins; a mystery taste simmering on the tip of your tongue as you digested every drop, his presence was intriguing. He wasn’t small like me, I would say average height for a 12 year old; about 5'4, slender body with unkempt dark black hair. He looked timid, his head tilted towards the ground not wanting to accidentally lock eyes with any of us as the teacher introduced him, my mind wandering with such intrigue because to all of our astonishment he was wearing a surgical face mask — mind you this was in the 90’s; eons before the Covid pandemic breached the windows of our thoughts.
Right away I could hear the murmurs, the questions erupting throughout the classroom as everyone pondered of why this boy sheltered his face. I stared on for what must of been minutes as the shy boy kept his gaze down, I could see him slightly squeezing the arm straps to his backpack nervously the longer he stood there on full display for all.
I had my fill and I relaxed my postured sinking back into my chair directing my stare out the window but then Billy Sherman asked the question we all had on our minds,
“Uhm, why is he wearing that mask?”.
Our teacher explained to us that it was because of some weaken immune system, something about how his ticker didn’t click like the rest of ours, she then also told us about him being mute. This drew my eyes right back to him, I think it did for all of us and for a moment the quiet kid raised his head and locked eyes with me. His dark black eyes glistened with despair, the deep purple bags that sagged under his eyes were more indicative of someone that hadn’t slept in days. I felt something for him in that moment, our third eye conversing in some cosmic dialogue and as quickly as he rose his head did it drop once again towards the ground. I could still hear all the the other kids snickering, questioning and some even giggling; it made me sick, if I was a braver boy I would of stood on top of my desk and verbally lashed out to all the sheep, instead I rose my hand asking something Mrs. Willis never said, what was the timid boys name?
“Oh I’m sorry, how rude of me, this is Gabriel”.
She sat Gabriel upfront next to her desk, wanting him close in case he needed to write or sign something to her and just like that everyone went back to their simple lives; including myself.
The next few weeks I saw little of Gabriel other than the back of his head during class, once the bell rang everyone that my eyes glimpsed at for the day disappeared or just maybe it was me who dissolved into the ambience of our school. Either way I saw little of the boy who wore a mask, the one that sheltered his true identity and my curiosity with the new flavor of the week gradually faded into the abyss of non-existence; well, that was until the day I saw the mask slip.
It was end of the day, I spent most of the time turning corners anytime Bryce Ellis approached; evading the wrath of him and his band of merry men who were the pinnacle of human torture; finding any opportunity to demean those who crossed their path. I remember leaving Chemistry class, my mind all to occupied with leaving the hell hole of every kids dread and that’s when I saw Gabriel walking down the hall towards the cafeteria; his head still tilted down; his gaze tracking every step he took; face mask still tightly fitted around his face.
This time I saw someone was following him, it was Tom Ingram one of Bryce’s guys, a kid that tried to be the “alpha male” of the group numerous times, doing his best to dethrone the reign of Bryce. He was a big boy for his age, probably about 5'9 and easily weighed 200 pounds, he was a wild card alright; he got caught pouring sugar down Mr. Whitakers old Pontiac gas tank for giving him a poor grade. So when I saw him berating poor Gabriel; taunting him as grotesque laughter followed every insult, I felt like I had to do something and my consistent stealth veneer of camouflage morphed into into a full on sprint towards the two. I saw Tom was closing in on him, other kids looking on with bewilderment on their faces — not knowing if they should laugh out of fear or grimace from disgust. For the first time in a long while did a burning sensation of courage ignite in my soul, I was tired of seeing monsters preying on the sheep and I was going to stop it somehow.
Finally Gabriel had stopped walking and stood still, his head hanging even lower than before, the strands of his long hair covered the remainder of his face. Tom began slapping the top side of the poor kids head, yelling out obscenities, angered that he didn’t stop sooner. I was close, I was gonna stop this since all anyone else could do is cower in fear while looking on and then it happened causing me to stop dead in my tracks, my eyes widening with befuddlement. Tom had torn away the mask from Gabriel's face, awes with groans came from everyone then silence blanketed the entire school and for those few seconds our existence had been swallowed up by the earth itself.
“What the hell” Tom yelped out breaking the still but heavy disquietude.
I wanted to say something, but no words could be manifested only gurgles as I choked on my own disbelief. The timid boy under the mask of intrigue had a strip of black duct tape covering his mouth, it stretching from the side of his face to the other almost resembling what would be some hideous smile. The timid boy then collapsed his hands over his face as faint muffles of sobbing protruded from him, he ran into the nearest restroom only for Tom to pursue. Finally my thoughts had been gathered while my body came back to life, I brushed off the bizarre occurrence of that grizzly smile and I reminded myself of what was about to happen. Tom was going to punish Gabriel for simply existing as he and his gang have been doing for years and like some old factory machine the cogs of my body set into motion as I ran towards the restroom.
Before I could open the door the most horrid scream exploded outwards into the hallway, the sound sending a cold shiver down my spine and Tom came running out of the restroom gripping at his face crying. He was hysterical running and bumping into the walls until finally crumbling onto the floor only to continue sobbing. My mind was clouded with a whirl wind of confusion, I no longer knew what to do, I mean I was going to run in there and stop the assault but now the assaulter was on the floor destroyed. Then Gabriel calmly came out of the restroom, his mask firmly back on and he turned to look at me, his dark eyes burning an image of anguish into my mind. I asked if he was okay of course he said nothing though, he didn’t need to I could just sense his response and it was one of gratitude. I almost could see him smiling at me from underneath the mask and I reminded myself of what was under it; that abysmal duct tape that looked like a sinister grin.
From that day on most of the kids were afraid of Gabriel, I could see the look of terror in their eyes anytime he passed by them even though his headed was still shifted downwards but that’s the day whenever someone mentioned him they referred to him as “Tape boy”. I had heard through the whispers of our school that Tom had suffered some mental breakdown, that the doctors couldn’t find anything psychically wrong with him, it was as if his mind had shattered. He remained in some mental hospital, memories of him gradually fading and the sheep went on with living their mundane lives. Bryce even slowed his bullying, I think he knew that their were now more eyes watching everyone after the altercation and he didn’t want to get caught in some bad situation, though I could see he was itching to get at Gabriel. I went back to being a shadow, avoiding all the others still not too confident that the days of torture were over.
Even though Gabriel was regarded as some magical or perhaps malevolent being by most; not sure which one; he still appeared to be sad; lonely, his head always dragging with despondency. I made an effort in getting to know him, I wasn’t afraid like the rest of them something about the day we locked eyes gave me the resolve to understand he wouldn’t hurt me. I approached him during lunch break, he was outside sitting underneath a tree, the shade showering him a gloom of haze. I think I surprised him or maybe it was just my stealth nature but I saw him jump when I sat next to him. I began talking about the origins of Darth Vader, of how he was originally a hero using his force power for good only to eventually turn to the dark side.
Gabriel just looked at me confounded of why I was even talking to him, his stare looking on with indifference. I told him that he was like a super hero, doing whatever he did to Tom was just like a super power, that I was thankful. His gazed then returned back to the floor almost out of shame, I guess whatever he did that day he didn’t see it as something special, or something to praise. I then told him that I still envied his ability to defend himself, that having such an ability was better than winning the school lottery — which was a week supply of free cafeteria food. I kept blabbering on for the remainder of the break while he still postured his stare towards the floor until the bell had finally rung. Before getting up I told him that if I could have a super power mine would be invisibility that’s when he turned to me pulling out a small spiral from his back pack writing something down, he then showed me.
“Why?” it read.
I told him that I didn’t like being seen, that if I could I would melt away into the noise, then life would be better he just stared at me with what I could assume was disbelief. He didn’t write anything back, he just remain seated while I stood to my feet. I asked if he was coming back to class but he ignored me and just stared out into space presumably lost in his own thoughts.
For the next several months I would catch Gabriel in the hallways, talk to him about the latest edition of whatever comic I was reading, Superman being my favorite and I would go on and on about how his true super power wasn’t strength but hope. I think he became more comfortable with me, pulling out his spiral notebook to write down his thoughts; his questions and answers — a new gateway of communication had formed between us. Most times I could tell what he was going to write by looking at his eyes, those dark haunting eyes, he was a mysterious book slowly being revealed to me and I was completely beguiled by his friendship. Bryce and his little posse slowly went back to bullying the sheep, though they kept their distance from Gabriel and me.
I guess I had a new protector one that wouldn’t be crossed and something about that protection left me feeling proud. I knew in my heart that the timid kid that now went by “Tape boy” wouldn’t hurt a fly that maybe the day of Tom going crazy was all by chance, perhaps his rage snapped his mind. I tried asking him about that day numerous times but he never explained what happened he would redirect the conversation back to super hero’s. I would walk home with him on certain days, well, more like he would walk me home I never got to see where he lived, he was too reserved to give up that kind of information but the days we would walk together was always fun. I finally felt like I belonged, the longing emotion of needing acceptance was found by his friendship.
One day when I was walking home by myself I decided to stop in at the gas station to pick up a drink and scour the latest edition of comic books in the small rack of magazines. Before entering the store I could hear arguing voices engaging in combative dialogue and it became vividly clear that it was more of a yelling match than conversation. It was coming from the side of the building, most times I would just ignore it but one of the voices sounded all too familiar and I crept slowly to the edge of the building poking my head out to get a glimpse of the disturbance. It was Bryce, his back was up against the wall while someone who I presumed was his father berated him with such a vicious snarl on his face. The angry man kept slapping Bryce across the face anytime he tried to say something and soon tears began drizzling off the face of the mighty bully only for the man to laugh.
I didn’t know why the older man was treating Bryce the way he was, information cut out of my understanding, for all I know it could of been because of something the bully did at school. I found it to be poetic justice that the boy that caused so much heart ache suffered the same amount only at home. It felt like a cliche, the angry kid was angry because of the angry father; a cruel loop of never ending proportions. Eventually the man or father walked away getting back into his car leaving the bully to brush away the tears from his face. I cautiously retreated my head away deciding to ditch the store completely when that same broken voice only minutes ago shouted out to me with a hefty dominance.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Bryce howled out.
I didn’t bother turning around, I just ran home, dodging into alley ways trying my best to not been seen. It didn’t appear as if he was following, but seeing him in such a vulnerable state was bemusing. We were a small town how could I not know who the man was, we all knew each other since we were small and then it hit me; Bryce’s dad had left when he was little. This man must of been his step dad or perhaps mom’s boyfriend, it didn’t matter I was going to mind my own business, I was going to slither back into the shadows; but my attempts would only fall on defeated shoulders.
I didn’t want to tell anyone of what I saw, I hoped that keeping my mouth shut would of been enough for the bully to leave me be. Unfortunately there is no reasoning when it comes to human beings, we base our actions on emotions, our anger and Bryce confronted me the next morning in front of Gabriel.
“Hey fairy, did you enjoy the show?” the angry kid spouted out at me.
I tried explaining to him that I wasn’t trying to intrude, that the arguing concerned me, that I didn’t like seeing him being mistreated and then he punched me right in the gut. I fell to the floor gripping at my stomach, the pain slicing through every fiber of my body. I tried catching my breath but inhaling was too painful and I sheltered my face expecting another punch but the bully walked off leaving me to sweat. Gabriel kneel down to me taking out his spiral notebook writing the obvious question, I gestured to him to give me a moment and I honestly felt like crying. I had spent years doing my best to blend into the background, the invisibility power I was so desperate to have amongst the sheep was now gone; I was on Bryce’s radar.
For the remainder of the school year I tried avoiding the bullies, the monsters that preyed on the sheep but their leader would actively search for me, he was no longer intimidated by Gabriel; his once menacing allure had dwindled and now we both were sitting ducks. Luckily there was only a few weeks left until summer break and I only had hoped that the time off would be enough for the monster of monsters to cool off.
Entering summer was a relief much needed for my sanity, I took a few thrashings but it was over, me and Gabriel had big plans on spending time together. He wasn’t an out door kind of kid, he usually would just come over my place and we would read my comic books. He quickly grew enchanted with the idea of super hero's, their powers restoring balance to the nature of our world. I enjoyed every minute of it, my parents on the other hand looked less jovial to our friendship, they didn’t like the mask; it worried them. They thought that whatever illness he had could be passed on to me, but they didn’t do anything to stop us from seeing each other, they only silently protested.
So after awhile we decided to meet somewhere outdoors, away from my parents judgmental stares, there was a creek close to my house, the trees giving us enough shade to stay cool on those long summer days. The small stream that flowed through the trenches of the creek enriched our view as we would find the perfect rock to perch on while reading our comics. We didn’t see much of any of the other classmates that summer, the sheep kept their distance or maybe it was just us, but the days seem to pass quickly and before we knew it summer was coming to an end. I couldn’t remember how many volumes we must of read but Gabriel was now a fan of almost every super hero. He tend to raise out his arms while walking, mimicking the premise of flying like Superman; his ponderous eyes cutting through the brush as we escaped our secluded summer spot.
It was on the final day of our summer break did I pressure the shy timid boy to explain to me what had happen that day, the day Tom lost his marbles, I needed to know. Gabriel as always tried redirecting the conversation, holding up a comic of Batman, pointing at some dialogue. I got upset, I raised my voice telling him that if we were friends then he should tell me, that there wasn’t secrets between us. His heavy eyes collapsing to the ground, shifting his posture on the rock that we both sat on.
“Look, I just need to know, you’re my best friend” I told him with genuine longing.
The school year was about to start up again and I could already envision a future of slithering through the hallways how I have always done, but with Gabriel maybe that could change. I needed to know and I was done guessing, fantasizing that he was some super hero or at least my hero; my protector. I stood up off the rock walking over to the stream, the sound of water colliding unto the small stones that infested the trench triggered something awful in my gut. I took a deep breath and made my final stand with my best friend.
“If you don’t want to tell me then I’m going home, see ya” I said with impatience dripping off of my words.
Gabriel ignored my warning and continued pointing at the comic book, that’s when I noticed what he was pointing at, it wasn’t dialogue it was one of Batman's villains — he was pointing at Clayface. This made me stop, my minding halting after speeding at 100 miles per hour; it crashing my thoughts.
“Yeah, what about Clayface?” I curiously asked with a withered and tired voice.
That’s when his pointer finger was no longer on the page but rather it was pointed towards his mouth; the mouth that was hidden behind his mask. He could see my face drop with sadness, whatever disfigurement he had underneath that horrid black duct tape must of been something like the villain from the comic and my heart broke for him. Gabriel’s eyes gleaming with absolute sorrow, the boy that only wanted to be left alone, the person all the others feared just wanted solitude and here I was badgering him to no end about something so insignificant. We stared at each other for several seconds, our eyes meeting in some altered state and I reached my hand up to his face tenderly taking off his mask. There it was, the black duct tape that resembled a grin, a nightmarish one that could only been seen in some horror movie. I then placed my fingers on the edge of the tape, my cold grip causing him to shiver and I slowly began to remove it.
“What the hell are you fairy’s doing?” a voice called out from the brush, one that sank my heart into my stomach.
I turned trying to locate the voice and sure enough there he was, the bully that had tortured so many for so many years — it was Bryce. His body slowly revealing itself from the brush like some despicable ooze frothing from the depths of hell. Though, something about him was different, his cold stare no longer fictitious but more intimidating and as his body fully emerged did I see the blood trickling down his soaked stain shirt. He was covered in the crimson fluid, there was even some on his cheeks almost as he had some open wound and smeared the remnants of it on his face. The devilish grin that bestowed his bruised and beaten face quickly led me to a conclusion; one that I wish I didn’t conclude. A purplish black infested the out layer of his left eye, it practically closed shut and his nose had been bent to a unsightly angle. I started to whimper as my lips trembled from fright because this Bryce was not the same one that had given us wedgies or swirlies this one was a true monster, a beast that devoured souls. His gaze was enough to display a vacancy of any humanity and my eyes crawled down his arm into his hand to see the black pistol that he firmly gripped.
“Uh, Bryce what happened? Are you okay?” I groaned out while sniffling.
He didn’t answer, he just kept grinning at me, the ghastly smile that stretched ear from ear plagued my vision and I knew that he had done it, that he had hurt someone badly. I was terrified and in the moment I had completely forgotten about Gabriel, my tunnel vision only focused on that firearm.
“Where the hell did the other one go?” the monster asked, I turned and realized Gabriel in fact had run away leaving me behind.
I wanted to run, I wanted to flee while screaming but horror kept me in place and I felt like some dear trapped in headlights contemplating my entire life in mere seconds.
“Everyone always messes with me!” Bryce yelled out with such ferociousness.
There was no talking my way out of this one, no pleading, I knew in that moment he was going to kill me; his rage over flowing to the point of lunacy. He quickly pounced dropping me to the floor, screaming with madness and he repeatedly hit me over the head with the but of the gun causing me to see stars. His words became incoherent sounding like muffled tones that slushed it’s way into my hearing, I shook my head trying to collect myself, just maybe I could figure a way out of this but as soon as my vision corrected itself Bryce would strike me another time causing it to blur once again. I fell into a darkness, my world collapsing into an eternal void of loneliness as my body began to float effortlessly but as soon as I thought this was my final moments flashes of Gabriel flooded into my mind awakening me out of whatever slumber I found myself in. That’s when I realized Bryce was no longer hitting me, instead he was talking to someone and as I grabbed at my head trying to steady my balance I saw it was Gabriel standing still head as always tilted downwards.
Bryce confronted him pointing his 9mm directly at his head yelling, screaming at the top of his lungs but my best friend remained unmoved, just quiet and then he slowly removed his mask. This caused Bryce to pause, his tone weaken and I think for the first time he digested if he should proceed doing what he was doing.
“What are you doing freak?” the bully yelped out.
Gabriel remained quiet, eyes still directed towards the floor, his breathing escalating; I could see his chest pump more vigorously with each passing second. With the mask off me and Bryce could see the bewildering black duct tape strapped to his face, Gabriel’s face began to tremble violently as if he was trying to yell through the bondage. He then finally began to peel of the thick layer of black duct tape and it came off with a wicked screech as I could see my friends eyes squint with pain.
Bryce was no longer pointing the gun at Gabriel, no longer was he even saying a word his arm lowered to his side and both him and I stared on with amazement. What was under the tape was layers of skin, twisting and binding to each other like some thriving organism living it’s own life on Gabriel's face. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t say anything I was in shock and my head still throb from pain. Then Gabriel's mouth — if you want to call it that — began to stretch open, he tilted his head backwards while the mountain of dead flesh started to drip down his face allowing some endless void to open up inside of him. I could hear the cracking of bones breaking, his jaw shifting to accommodate the massive hole that was now his mouth and then horrid dwindling fingers began to protrude from the darkness.
My mouth gaped open with trepidation and if I had the ability to adjust my head I would think Bryce had the same facial expression. Then a grotesque head forced it’s way out of my friends mouth revealing a face that could only exist in the realms of the dead, this new creature having two large almond shape eyes; eyes that looked very similar to the ones that were attached to my friend. This ‘thing’ then stared at Bryce, that’s all it did, no words were spoken no violence was created it just stared at him and soon the bully grasped at his face and began to yell. He ran frantically in different directions, his gun firing out into the tree line, I jumped for cover; falling to the floor sheltering my head with my arms. Bryce’s terrified screams caused my stomach to turn and soon those dire cries stopped along with the gunshots.
I must of stayed on the floor for what felt like hours, too scared to rise to my feet and through my peripheral did I see the sun begin to set plunging the small creak into darkness. I eventually mustered up enough courage to get up and I looked around, Bryce was mere feet away from me, he lay still on the floor blood spewing out of his head; it appeared as if had shot himself. I walked over to his body befuddled of what to do I then remembered Gabriel, I turned to look for him but he was gone it was only me and Bryce's dead corpse. I ran home telling my parents about everything, of the encounter I experienced, at first it seemed as if they didn’t believe me but they still phoned for the police.
I led them to the creek to the bullies dead body, I initially thought perhaps they would blame me, connect me to his death but the police believed me; well the believed me about Bryce but not about Gabriel. They told me that Bryce had killed his step father, apparently they had gotten into some altercation and afterwards he went into his mothers bedroom and shot her to death. They told me that the once bully was a disturbed individual, suffering abuse for many years; that I was lucky to escape from his wrath. I told them that they needed to find my friend I wanted to know if he was okay, but all the officers could do was pat my back with sympathy trying to relax me.
It has almost been 30 years since the event, I still have nightmares of what had happened, I see the dead stare Bryce had while pointing his pistol at me, I see him repeatedly hitting me over the head again and again. Though, what still haunts me more is Gabriel's mouth contorting into that horrid shape revealing the creature that lived inside of him. He was never found, I’m pretty sure he moved on to another city, another place where bullies like Bryce tormented their schools and I could only imagine Gabriel was there to balance the wrongs of the world. I am scared of my best friend, but I know at the same time he is my protector; my super hero, he is out there doing good, I can feel it and I hope he can sense my love for him. Maybe we will never meet again, perhaps it’s not written in the stars for us to reunite but one thing is for sure, I get comic books mailed to me randomly every month; most are of Superman and I know exactly who they are from.

Buster growled softly, baring his teeth at me as he stood in defiance. His stance rigid and unyielding, his tail stiff, and ears pinned back - he watched my every move with alert eyes.
My 3-year-old German shepherd had intuitively figured out the prospect of an upcoming bath when he saw me reach for the towel, and decided to give me a hard time over it.
“I know buddy. I am not happy about it either. But I will make it quick. I promise,” I tried to reason, holding up both hands to reassure him.
‘But it’s not even been a week…’ I could almost imagine him saying those exact words to me when he growled back in protest.
“You’re right...But listen, man. You’re dirty. I can feel your presence from here,” I said, standing ten feet away and pretending to cover my nostrils with my finger.
Buster, of course, didn’t care and continued to defy without hesitation.
I put my hands on my hip and sighed. My glance immediately shifted to a hose attached to a tap outside my quarters.
“Tell you what. I’ll make it worth your while. You don’t mind the jet spray, right? In fact, you even tolerate it sometimes,” I said, pointing to the hose located only a few feet away.
“How about a little cooperation now, and I’ll make you your favorite meal a little later?” I asked him, while reaching out to pick a can of chicken liver from the kitchen.
As I dangled the can in my hand, I could see it slowly chipping away at his resolve, his mind grappling with the pros and cons of my new proposal.
A moment later, Buster barked at me twice and slowly made his way out of the house. He sat by the garden tap, ready to receive his bath.
I took a handful of lotion and began to rub it against his torso to remove all the muck and grime that was sticking to his body. We had been quite busy lately, guarding the base and conducting multiple patrols along the perimeter every day. The rain a few hours ago certainly didn't help matters, with Buster leaping over puddles of water and actively rolling in the mud to escape the desert heat. I had to use a brush to remove the layers of dirt that had caked all over his body.
It’s been a strange week, to say the least. The days were busy but peaceful, while the nights brought scattered, random sounds. Their origins were a mystery, as they appeared not to originate from the base. But I wasn’t too worried about it, not yet anyway.
There is an air base located a couple of hours away from the facility, and it wasn’t unusual for them to conduct sorties at odd hours in the night. I assumed they were probably testing out some new technology.
My colleague Joe thought the same thing as well. But we couldn’t take any chances, and we both had a job to do. So we conducted regular patrols around the base just as a precautionary measure.
But deep down, I felt something nagging at me, like I was being watched by someone or something. I couldn’t exactly put it into words.
For a second, I wondered if Buster too felt the same way when I saw him suddenly lift his head up, listening intently with his ears up in attention.
I quickly turned back to check if there was anybody standing behind me, but I found no one. When I turned around to face him again, I saw him looking up at the night sky, his gaze focused and unwavering.
“What’s it buddy? You see something?” I asked him as I cleared away the foam from his face. Moments went by slowly. And then, just like that, as if nothing had happened, he put his head down and began pawing my leg, urging me to finish his bath. I sighed again and turned on the hose, to wash off all the soap.
He finally looked presentable and I have to admit, his coat glistened beautifully under the moonlight.
Before I could reach for his towel, Buster swiftly moved in to close the gap between us and looked me in the eye dead serious. He then shook his body vigorously, much like a wet dog trying to rid itself of wetness, and trotted off without bothering to look back.
I laughed out loud as I sat there, drenched in water. I knew I should have seen that coming. However, my smile quickly faded, as it also reminded me of Jessica, my ailing wife.
Before another thought could take shape in my mind, I heard a familiar voice blare across the radio.
“Mike, I need you down here. Get to the post quick.”
It was my colleague Joe and I replied back in the affirmative. I quickly grabbed my gear and signaled Buster to follow after me.
When I reached the post, I saw Joe standing there armed with his rifle. As a seasoned war veteran with two tours under his belt, Joe was a dangerous man and not to be trifled with. But he was also compassionate and wise beyond his years.
“What’s up Joe?” I inquired, as I approached him near the entrance of the base.
“I am not sure yet. I thought I heard something at a distance. It could well be nothing.” he replied, after a brief pause.
‘Well, we’ve had a lot of that going around all week’, I thought to myself.
He then turned around to look at me. “I want you to run a perimeter sweep first. Then go on patrol again. Take Buster with you” he said, before heading back to his post.
I started the jeep and drove out towards the perimeter. The engine hummed softly as I navigated the rough terrain, with Buster sitting alertly beside me. After finding nothing suspicious during my initial sweep, I decided to broaden my search radius.
A mile into the drive, Buster suddenly started barking, prompting me to stop the jeep immediately. He leaped onto the ground and dashed towards a boulder located a short distance away. I picked up my rifle and cautiously followed after him.
When I reached the spot, I keyed the mic attached to my shirt and said, "Boss, you need to come see this."
I knew he wasn’t going to be happy about leaving the guard post unmanned, but I thought he would prefer to come and inspect this himself.
Joe arrived ten minutes later, parking his vehicle next to mine. He walked towards the boulder overlooking a small pond, and switched on his torch to get a better look at the skeletal remains of an animal dumped nearby. Three other animal remains lay next to it, all appearing to be in a similar condition.
“These look like coyotes, probably stopping by to drink water from the pond before they were killed,” he observed, his voice expressing concern. “Did you find them like this?”
“Yes”, I replied. “And they weren’t here when I drove through the same place this morning. I thought it was quite odd to be honest, to find four of them out here all at once in the middle of the desert, that too at this hour.”
Joe simply nodded in agreement.
“What sort of creature do you think did this Joe?”
“I mean it must have a ravenous appetite to chew every sinew of flesh from the bone, and lick it this clean.” I said, leaning in take another look.
“Do you think it could be the Chupacabra or something similar?” I continued, knowing fully well my question was a bit far-fetched, but I had to still get it off my chest.
Joe finally stood up, switched off his torch, and looked around the vast open desert in quiet contemplation.
“This is in fact the fifth sighting in less than a week, Mike, and all have occurred in close proximity to secure government installations. The one before this was even stranger, and happened near a military base, where an old buddy of mine continues to serve.”
“He told me in that instance, the remains belonged to a dog. There were no signs of flesh or connecting tissue from the nasal region to the abdominal section, while the region spanning from the abdominal cavity to the tail bone was left fully intact. The whole thing was carried out with surgical precision, and drew morbid praise from even the medic back at the base.”
"But how is that even possible? What are you suggesting, Joe?" I asked, surprised by the tone of my own voice and my inability to hide my disappointment upon hearing about it for the first time.
“This is not a hunt for prey, Mike. This is a hunt for attention. Somebody is trying to make a point. And I’d say they are accomplishing their objective.” Joe said.
When we got back to the base, Joe updated the command centre about the new developments. I headed back to my quarters and lay down on my bed. The exhaustion washed over me and I immediately drifted to sleep.
I looked at my Mickey Mouse watch. The time was 5:36 PM. I was licking my ice cream while sitting next to my mom in the car. To my right, was my 4 year old cousin Henry who was fast asleep on his mother’s lap.
In the front, my dad was driving the car with his brother seated next to him. Then a truck from the opposite side suddenly came in our lane, and rammed into our vehicle causing it to turn turtle.
With great difficulty, I managed to extricate myself and pulled my cousin out from the wreckage as well. And then suddenly, the car exploded and went up in flames….
I opened my eyes and realized I was still in bed. The same dream had come and gone a thousand times before. It has become a constant part of my life ever since I was a 9-year-old kid.
I slowly got off the bed and found my head hurting. I had barely slept since last night’s excitement, and my mood was already beginning to turn foul.
Buster was already awake. I gently patted him on the head as I walked into the kitchen to put a kettle of water on the boil, and turned on the TV.
My attention immediately shifted towards the news. There was a nuclear explosion in Russia in a small town that was just a couple of hours away from Moscow. The details regarding the explosion were still shrouded in speculation.
“Just the kind of news to start the day,”I groaned as I reached for a nearby chair in the kitchen.
‘But what could have caused this?’ I thought to myself a little later, and hoped the damage there was minimal.
I then looked at the clock and set about getting ready for work. I showered, ate my breakfast, and was out the door by 8, with a hot cup of coffee in hand. Buster raced ahead to get to the guard post.
Joe had already completed his shift, and was waiting for me to relieve him of his duties. We high-fived as usual, and he began to walk back to his quarters. I settled into my chair, and made an entry in the logbook.
My name is Michael Armesto, a 30-year-old security guard working for a secret government installation located in an obscure area in the hot Nevada desert. The facility is centered around a medium-sized building occupying 7,000 square feet of space.
A 10-meter-high wired fence had been erected around the base to provide added protection. There was nothing else around the facility for miles, with the exception of a few boulder fields and mountains in the distance.
For over 5 years now, my colleague Joe and I have been working in shifts to ensure the guard post is manned at all times. When compared to other secret government bases, the security requirements here are not as stringent. And yet, neither Joe nor I ever had any clue about the kind of work being done here.
Every day, like clockwork, a bus carrying 25 people would arrive at the facility at 9:00 AM sharp. I had to open the gates to let them through, once the customary security checks were performed.
These people always wore lab coats and looked like scientists. They would work in the facility until 5:00 PM, and leave by the same bus at the end of the day. In all that time, they never once smiled or waved at me. It was as if their bosses had strictly informed them to not even initiate eye contact with people outside their circle.
Anyway, I never took offense to any of that. My job was to provide security to the facility, and I was doing that to the best of my ability.
As I sat back in my chair, ready to take another sip of coffee, my phone began to ring. It was from the hospital, and I answered it. A minute later, I called Joe and asked him to stand in for me. He immediately understood.
When he arrived at the guard post, I apologized for the inconvenience and Joe simply nodded with a reassuring smile.
As I was about to climb into my jeep, I pointed my finger at Buster and said, “STAY.”.
“Take him with you Mike. She will be happy to see him” Joe said quickly intervening.
“But Boss, I don’t want to leave you here alone after last night.” I protested.
Joe waved his hand dismissively. “Get going Mike. That’s an order.”
“And don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Go see Jess and tell her I am rooting for her,” he said, before walking back to the guard post.
I put a leash on Buster and climbed into the jeep with him. I started the vehicle and began driving towards the city to check on my wife Jessica. She was receiving treatment for lung cancer at St Mary’s Hospital, which was a 5 hour drive from the base.
Jess had never smoked once in her life, and for her to go through all this hardship really broke my heart. I would have normally liked to stay by her side during this crisis, but I could not afford the cost of treatment on my own. Thankfully, the insurance from my government job so far helped me cover most of the medical expenses.
After arriving at the hospital, I headed straight to her room and found her with tubes attached to her mouth. She was heavily sedated and looked like she was in pain.
Buster was standing by the door looking glum. He could see that Jess was unwell. Buster came into my life as a surprise birthday gift from Jess, and he has been a part of our family ever since. The people working at the hospital regularly allowed him inside the premises, knowing fully well that his presence always helped to uplift her spirits.
I came to know from the doctor that Jess had suffered a heart attack due to long term COVID complications. While she was stable and out of danger for now, she did need to undergo an emergency surgery within the next 3 days. The surgery alone would cost $30,000, and that was not covered by my insurance policy.
I pulled Buster by the leash to tell him it was time to go, but he kept resisting. He wanted to sit by her side for some time, even though she was unconscious and unable to acknowledge his presence. So, I too pulled up a chair and sat beside him. It immediately brought back happy memories of our marriage.
We used to spend our summers going on long drives, visiting natural parks, or idly sitting by the beach, enjoying good food and playing all kinds of sports. Jess and I would also often embark on scenic routes, with no particular destination in mind, allowing the road to guide us towards hidden gems.
Whether it's a visit to a historic village or a hike through a lush green forest, all the shared experiences helped strengthen our bond as a family.
The two of us also enjoyed using Buster to pull pranks on each other. Whenever Jess gave him a bath, she would command Buster to go ‘Shake’ in front of me and I would get drenched in water, leading to fits of laughter all around. It was one of her favorite pranks.
So when I saw my wife on the bed with tubes attached to her mouth, I got the reality check I needed. I stood up from my chair and yanked harder at his leash; he didn’t resist this time and followed after me.
I walked out of the hospital feeling a bit dazed. As I started to drive back to the base, my mind was busy trying to come up with solutions. I had only $2000 in my bank account, and that clearly wasn’t enough.
‘Maybe I could contact an official from the government and apply for a loan?’ I thought to myself. I kept driving while mulling on the best course of action.
Then, at a certain point, I suddenly snapped to my senses and immediately stopped the car. I had been driving for over 4 hours now. It was 7 in the evening, and night had already fallen.
Yet, I could not spot the base in the distance. Usually, by this time, the floodlights would have been turned on, and the facility would be easily visible for miles.
Instead, all I could see up ahead was pitch-black darkness. Something was wrong.
I tried calling Joe on his phone, but he was unreachable. I pressed the gas pedal and drove as fast as I could.
When I finally reached the facility, the situation looked much worse than I had feared. The entrance gate was left half open, with no one manning the guard post. The entire building just sat there in the darkness with no power. I tried calling on Joe’s number again. No response.
I then called Joe’s boss, who was stationed in Carson City, to inform him of the situation and possibly request reinforcements. He was unreachable as well.
‘What on earth is going on?’ I asked myself. This was completely bewildering on so many levels.
I slowly drove up to the base, and stopped the jeep a short distance away from the front gate. I wanted to be able to make a quick exit, if things turned hostile. I took a torch light from the dashboard and unfastened my sidearm from the holster. After getting down from the vehicle, I softly whistled towards Buster to follow me.
When I walked past the gate and checked the guard post, I saw a body lying face down on the floor. From a distance, it was difficult to identify the person clearly, but as I got closer I recognized Joe’s uniform. I ran towards him and turned him around and got the shock of my life. I stumbled back in fear and hit the floor hard.
I don’t know what they did to Joe.
But he was lying there dead! Very dead!
It was like he had been zapped or electrocuted. The only thing that was remaining of him was his skeleton. Not an ounce of flesh was visible on his body. And yet his uniform looked in pristine condition.
‘How is this even possible?’ I asked myself.
It immediately reminded me of the dead coyotes I found on patrol the previous night.
“Could this all be somehow related? Was this an execution? And was this carried out be the same group of people?” I wondered.
Joe’s rifle was still there, leaning against the wall. I holstered my sidearm and picked up his rifle. I checked the magazine. He hadn’t fired a single shot.
I then turned on the tactical light and started moving towards the government facility. No one could enter this building until they had a high level of clearance, and every person who had clearance, was issued an electronic key card to gain access. So I was shocked to see the door was left ajar here as well.
Before entering, I headed back to check the junction box. The darkness was making me paranoid and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to fix it first. When I reached the box, I discovered that the power had been deliberately shut down.
I turned it back on, and the entire place lit up like a Christmas tree.
But the whole facility wore a deserted look. The bus that was usually used to ferry the scientists was still parked at the parking lot.
I doubled back towards the entrance, and slowly entered the building with my rifle pointed forward. This was the first time I was setting foot inside the facility. And if this was supposed to be a top research lab, I wasn’t seeing any signs of it.
The place had been hastily evacuated. There was not a single soul in sight. All I could see was waste paper and computer cables strewn across the floor. Everything else had been cleared out.
Buster then took off on his own, and dashed towards the far end of the building. Something had caught his fancy and I followed after him. He stopped against a large couch and started barking at me.
I looked down and could see something metallic hidden underneath. I stretched my hand to retrieve an aluminum briefcase with blood stains all over it. Someone was obviously holding onto it for dear life, and then tossed it underneath as a last ditch attempt to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands.
‘Did the scientists manage to escape? Or did something bad happen to them, like it happened to Joe?’
‘Could the nuclear explosion in Russia have something to do with this?’
“Are the two countries about to go to war? Is this to be viewed as an escalation,” I wondered.
A hundred questions were going through my mind now, and I had answers to none of them.
I decided to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. I saw no point in staying, now that Joe was dead and the facility had also been cleared out. I ran back to my jeep, tossed the briefcase in the backseat, and began my drive back to the nearest city I could think of.
Twenty minutes into the drive, I began to get curious about the briefcase, and I had to stop the car to take a look. I switched on the light in my vehicle and opened the briefcase. There was some kind of a telescope inside.
On its base, it bore the insignia of a bright burning Sun with a single eye at it’s center. It also had a name tag attached to it that was labelled Korelo ZX4 – 1969.
The telescope in itself was a strange looking contraption, the likes of which I had never seen before. It was the size of a camcorder, and comfortably fit within the palm of my hand.
There were two identical knobs on either side of the device. The one on the left moved freely clockwise or counter clockwise. It felt similar to those old radio transistors, where you could switch back and forth between stations.
The knob on the right looked the same but had a small pointer attached to it. It had limited range of motion and worked like a switch. Close to the pointer were 3 printed dots, one larger than the other in ascending order. I guess this signified the 3 levels in which this device functioned.
I held the telescope gently in my hand and peered into the eyepiece. With the moon being the only source of light in the desert, I could hardly spot a thing. I then turned the knob on the right, and the device immediately roared to life. I could even feel it mildly vibrating in my hand.
As I peered into the eyepiece again, I now had clear vision of the space all around me. A green display had opened up and was providing clean imagery with stunning levels of detail. I slowly started to turn the knob on the left, and the telescope began to zoom in and out.
I could now clearly see the creatures of the desert ….miles away… coming out their holes …looking for prey. Their heat signatures capturing perfectly… the contours of their own bodies as they moved swiftly across the sand.
As I kept zooming in further, I could also spot the local diner of the nearest town that was more than 50 miles away. I could not only figure out the make and model of cars parked in front of the restaurant, but also read the number plates on them.
And then I looked upwards, pointing the telescope at the night sky, hoping to see the stars a little more clearly. And suddenly everything became obscure. It was like staring at a blank wall.
I moved the telescope away looking confused. Everything looked normal. There was an abundance of stars scattered across the sky, and there were hardly any clouds. I looked into the telescope again, and started zooming back, and my heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Thousands of feet high up in the sky, a large spaceship was hovering mid-air. It was big enough to accommodate an entire football field. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I just kept staring at it for several moments.
Then I slowly began to pan the telescope across the skyline, and soon realized that I was in for an even bigger shock! There were at least two more spaceships thousands of miles away. Make no mistake. They were clearly visible as the one I was standing in front of.
‘Ok Mike, What else you got?’ I said out loud to myself.
I then turned my focus back to the ship in front of me, and turned the right knob again.
The second dot got highlighted on screen, and the telescope suddenly zoomed in to reveal the insides of the spaceship.
The unfolding images were a little grainy but still definitive enough to provide sufficient visual quality. It was like an X-ray, CT scan and MRI all rolled into one. As I kept adjusting the left knob to get a clearer visual, I could see a large workstation occupying most of the space inside the ship.
Close to the panel, two people were standing and conversing with each other. They did not look human at all. In fact, they looked like aliens!
By this point, I was already sweating even as the cool winds of the desert were hitting my face, and ruffling my hair. I continued to stare into the telescope completely transfixed. I turned the right knob one more time.
The last big dot got highlighted on screen, and then I suddenly started hearing weird noises. Buster who was keeping silent all this while, let out a soft howl and dug his face into the sand. But the noises didn’t stop. It sounded odd and animal like. Like the garbled speech of someone attempting to speak with a mouthful of water. I realized I was now eavesdropping on the aliens talking amongst themselves.
I think they figured this out as well. Because one of them abruptly stopped speaking, and walked towards a work station, and then punched something on the console.
In a matter of moments, the other alien turned around and took a step forward in my direction. It looked like he was peering down at me, fully aware of my existence. A wry smile appeared on his lips, and I felt a shiver go down my spine.
I immediately switched off the telescope, put it back in the briefcase and ran towards my jeep. Buster followed after me. I decided to get to the nearest town and drove as fast as I could.
Part 2

I don’t really know what to do. I think he is cheating on me. My boyfriend of over a year and a half has had a couple of incidents of talking to other girls while we have been dating. For context, we are both on the summer break in between freshman and sophomore year of college. We started dating when we were seniors in high school and I knew I would be attending a 4-year university when I graduated. His parents were advising him to attending Community College to save money, but ultimately followed me to college and we lived together in the dorms. We are looking into renting an apartment for the upcoming school year. The first time, it was right around my 19th birthday and our one year anniversary. He was texting a multitude of other girls on both Snapchat and Instagram. The messages did not consist of much, and many of the girls didn’t even respond. I don’t remember how I found out, all I know is that it crushed me. We’ve known each other our entire lives. My parents both work together with his dad and our mom’s were pregnant with us at the same time. We didn’t grow up close but we’ve known each other for a long time. We’ve had on and off crushes on each other for a while, but the timing never worked out. After I found out, it was really tough for me to get over it. I’ve been cheated on in the past and had a really hard time trusting a significant other again, all of which he knows about. The second time it happened was only a few months after the first, right at the beginning of December. I found out because he had a secret account on Snapchat that connected him through his phone number. I went through his phone, just to verify to make sure I wasn’t bringing it up without evidence. The texting, again, was over both Snapchat (on a second account) and Instagram (another secret account). The messages consisted of the same thing, with a limited response from the women. This time, he decided to text his ex-girlfriend. This one was really hard for me because he dated me very very quickly after breaking up with her (he claims she cheated on him, but I can’t know for sure because he never confirmed it from her, which was his reason for reaching out to her in the first place, for “closure”). We had a company Christmas party that we were attending together only three days after I found out (both sets of parents and the entire company that we grew up around would be there. It would have been awful explaining we had broken up). After that, he deleted all social media and I worked on building my trust back up. For 4 months it was great. We were in a super great place… until I started getting new suspicions. He downloaded Instagram about two months ago for a valid reason that I was okay with and just kept it downloaded, which I knew. About a week until we are supposed to move out of the dorms, I see him get an Instagram notification. He clicked on it, and when the app popped up, it asked if he wanted to view on his personal account. This only happens if you are logged into a different account before and it has to switch to the account of which the notification was received from. I simply took this as a red flag, and looked through his phone the next day, but didn’t find anything. Fast forward to now, only two weeks into summer break and I saw another thing that raises a red flag. He was on Instagram, and it was very clearly an empty (or maybe only one or two texts) DM of someone. I didn’t get a good look at the screen before he swiped out of it (not fast, like he was trying to hide it though). Now I’m just wondering what the hell im gonna do. We are both staying at our respective parents’ houses for the summer, so we don’t see much of each other during the week because I work 40 hour weeks and he is taking summer classes online. I trusted him enough to download his socials again, but I don’t know if I will ever get completely over this situation, even if he isn’t talking to anyone. We have our fair share of issues within our relationship, my dad and him have a slightly strained relationship, and me and my parents do NOT like his dad (but his dad doesn’t know I don’t like him). His family is wonderful, and I truly do love him, and I genuinely believe that he loves me. But my trust is so thin and I don’t know if I will ever fully trust him if he has social media. The first time I stayed with him because he was sorry and I knew that, I needed to put more effort into the relationship. The second time, I felt like I was staying more out of convenience, and told him that if this ever happened again, I will walk out without even speaking to him. I don’t know what to do. The strain that he has between himself, me, and my family is a major factor into my decisions because I am super close with my family and there have been many arguments about him between us. I don’t know if I should go through his phone to see if I’m just making a big deal out of nothing. I don’t know if I should just break up with him because I don’t trust him. I don’t know if I should confront him and see if he will come clean. I don’t know if I should just shut up because our families are so intertwined. I don’t know where I would live next year when I go back to school (my parents think it’s a bad idea to get an apartment, his parents fully support it). There are just so many factors pulling me in different directions that I don’t know how to handle it. I never told anyone about his shenanigans, so I feel like I can’t talk to anyone about it either. If you were me (or have been in a similar position), let me know what you would do. We are so young, but he has told me many times that he wants to marry me, and he would today if I would let him. I’m just so upset that I thought I could trust him, and he’s broken it many times. Please help!
TL;DR; My bf (19m) and I (19f) have been together over 1.5yrs. We live together at university, but are apart for summer break. I have caught him texting other girls (not full convos, and many without response from the girls) two times, but I am starting to suspect that he is doing it again. What should I do? Try to find an opportunity to look through his phone? Just break up? We have a lot of family that know each other (our parents work together) so it would be so awkward. Confront him? Open to ideas!

Hello everyone! I have just recently rediscovered this sub a few days ago and have been pretty much lurking non stop since, and just wanted to share some of my favorite memories of watching this show with my dad.
I first started watching this show with my dad when I was about 12 years old (I am now 28). We started with the original movie before starting with SG1, and immediately after the 1st episode was hooked and couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t even tell you how many times we watched SG1/SGA all the way through(never finished SGU).
Watching the show with my dad as a kid and talking stargate together was our thing. It’s some of my fondest/happiest memories as kid of my dad. We went to a convention together in LA in 2011 I believe, and ended up going to a convention in Chicago, in the summer of 2012, that we took a train to get to all the way from Fullerton, Ca. Long story for a different day as to why we took a train lol.
This man loved stargate so much that his ringtone on his iPhone was the opening music to Atlantis. This man could quote any episode off the top of his head and his knowledge of this show was rival to none.
Unfortunately, he passed away in 2021 due to congestive heart failure while on dialysis. It still is the most devastating and heat breaking day I ever had. I know the amount of pain he was in and how difficult it was for him to live like that, especially since he was a realtor and had move around a lot and talk to people. I know in my heart of hearts that he “ Died Free”. Free from all the pain and agony he had on a daily basis. I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch the show without him, it just hurts too much and feels wrong. However, after rediscovering this sub I’ve been able to relive my favorite moments with him, and I’m thankful to everybody who has posted here about their love of Stargate.
My favorite episode is “Threshold” from season 5. Where Teal’c is put through the Rite of M’al Sharran, after he was brainwashed by Apophis. I love getting a look into Teal’cs past as first time of Apophis and the mercy he showed Va’lar, and the shame he felt later on when he killed him.
So I’m asking all of you, what is your favorite memory of watching Stargate? Whether it was a parent, spouse, loved one, or by yourself, please share.
And yes I did ultimately end up serving just under 6 years in the USAF and just got out 3 weeks ago.
Thank you

DO NOT COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS. I am NOT OP. Original post by u/OddDot5178 in AITAH
trigger warnings: possible transphobia, possible mental health issues, manipulation
​
NOTE: Because everyone will wonder, I am addressing this right now. While OOP's child identifies as non-binary, she uses "she/her" pronouns and presents as a female. This is why OOP refers to her as her daughter.

AITAH For Not Wanting To Raise My NB Daughter's Baby? - Feb 7, 2024
My daughter came to me at 16 and said she was non-binary, but only sometimes. Like, some days she would feel more male than female and some days she would feel like neither. She wanted me to ask her every day what day it was and then refer to her as that pronoun of the day.
I told her that wasn’t going to fly. Growing up, I spent a lot of time on LJ (Livejournal) during the ol’ ‘bun-self’ and ‘zen-self’ ‘zir-self’ days. People who think this is new to this generation are fooling themselves. I told her that I would call her the pronoun she wanted, and do my best to remember it day to day, but she was going to have to tell me what she wanted for that day. I wasn’t going to play a daily guessing game.
This went on for about a week or two until she finally seemed to grow tired or bored and just said I could call her ‘her’. Though she still identifies as non-binary. Fine. (At least when it was going on she wanted ‘she, he, or they’ — I’m sorry but I couldn’t have done fox-self/fox-them with a straight face).
So that’s the pronoun story and looking back where I think things started to go off the handle. Here’s my real question.
My daughter is now 18, pregnant, and seems to have lost her god damned mind. Or I’m an asshole. You choose.
This year has been a struggle. She wanted to take a break year before she goes to community college, but can’t keep a job. Apparently, retail situations are too phobic against her non-binary state. (My child looks/acts/dresses exactly as a young adult female btw. When I ask how people are being phobic against her, she gets as prickly as a cactus so I really don’t know the details.). She’s been through 4 or 5 jobs this year, quit all of them. She won’t consider call centers that aren’t face to face because she doesn’t like to talk on phones, and is apparently looking for a remote job without any luck.
She’s been unemployed since Thanksgiving (she quit her last job on Black Friday, in fact) and I was on the verge of laying down the law, telling her she either needs to go to school this upcoming semester full time or get a full time job or move out with her friends.
But now she’s come to me and she’s 5 months pregnant. She’s very angry at me, says it’s my fault because:

• I didn’t put her on puberty-blocking hormones when she came to me 2 years ago.
• She believes I am in fact trying to ‘feminize her’ by getting her birth control. (The pill.). She’s been throwing her prescription away.

This is where I might be the asshole. I called her a little idiot. We don’t use that sort of language in my house, and I never call people names — especially my own child — but at that moment I could just see red.
The hormone thing is a non-issue IMO because this is the first time I ever heard of her wanting hormones. What was I supposed to do? Go back in time?
As for the birth control! It’s also the first time I’m hearing anything about this! There are non-pill options that don’t have estrogen. If that was her want, all she had to do was ask and I would have driven her to the doctor myself! Or she could have taken the car she has and done it. She has her own medical card, even! Though to be fair, I don’t know how she would have managed the co-pay without a job. I know for a fact her old high school gave out free condoms like candy because her friends were always giggling over flavored sample packs and even blew a few of them up like balloons and left them around the house one time. She had all the birth control she could ever want and used none of it.
It gets worse.
We’re way past the date of abortion (again, I would have helped her if this had been her wish! We live in an abortion protected state and can afford it!). She’s known she was pregnant since about 2 months and has come to think of her baby like a sibling. She expects me to raise it like it was mine. That this is my duty, in fact, because she says it is my refusal to accept her non-binary state that led to her being pregnant. So she was going to get a brother or sister and I was going to have another child.
You can say my language grew … sterner to versions of ‘Get your head out of your ass’ and ‘Congratulations, mommy, you have some hard decisions to make’, and I said I would absolutely not raise her baby for her.
She also refused to say who the father was. Now that I’ve cooled down, I’m really hoping she has a secret boyfriend. She does have some friends who were born male, but now also don’t identify that way. We didn’t even get there as I lost my mind when she said she thinks of her own baby as a sibling and wants me to raise it like my own child.
She’s locked herself in her room loudly wailing, I feel like crap warmed over. She’s been in there for 12 hours, and as she has an attached bathroom, probably won’t be coming out until she gets hungry. Considering it’s been half a day I think she has snacks stored.
I also don’t know where to go from here. Being pregnant sucks and messes with your head, so I’d like to blame that and the fear she must be feeling, but … I have the bad feeling I either raised a spoiled brat or someone with an emerging personality disorder.
So I need to know from people who aren’t emotionally involved, and maybe some people who are more in tune with this whole nonbinary thing than I am.
What do I do to help while also making her responsible for her own child? How can I help my daughter accept she must do basically the most feminine thing you can do (give birth and possibly breast-feed) while being sensitive that she’s non-binary? Am I just a big asshole here?
Typing all this out it feels like my daughter is lost in crazy town. I'm still not raising her baby but at what point do I drag a legal adult to the hospital?
Edit: You might disagree with my choices or wording, but I'm reporting people who call this bait. It's not.
Edit2: It's the middle of the night and she has decided to pack some of her clothes and stay with one of her friends. (One who I suspect is the baby daddy). Before she left she told me that she already called the police and let them know that she was 'leaving of her own free will and was not in danger'. Like I was going to report an 18 year old adult as a runaway or something? It was insulting.
I told her she needs to work out details if she wants to adopt with the father, and she was welcome back home when she had a plan in place.
It was short because I heard her on the way out. I think she just meant to leave without saying anything.
Thank you for your kind comments and advice, Reddit. I'm going to sleep.
Commenters agreed that OOP's child wasn't thinking straight:
Comment 1:
NTA.
I hate to say this, but; I sincerely hope OP's daughter chooses to give up this baby for adoption, because she's a confused hot ass mess. I don't blame OP for not wanting to step on the crazy train and raise this baby.
Comment 2:
Let’s be honest: If OP says yes to raising this child as her own, it will be the first of several. Daughter won’t take BC, so she will continue to have unprotected sex and get pregnant. She decided a couple years ago that she’s NB, expected her mother to understand that and know everything about it, and is now rewriting history to blame her mom for her now being pregnant. My head is swimming, and she’s not my daughter! There will be more babies.
Comment 3:
NB here OP.
You are SO NTA. I feel sympathy for your kid because they sound like they are so confused, maybe have body dysphoria and are now facing a life altering situation with no way out. They must feel so trapped. So they turn on you. It's easier for them to yell at and blame you instead of accepting responsibility. They are looking for a way out. We all keep changing and growing and your kid is SO young they seem to not know who they are yet and now they have to face looking after a baby when they know deep down they can't even really take care of themselves.
But my GOD the thing they did that was really stupid was chucking BC away. That is actually wild. Your kid needs to learn the difference between gender enforced stereotypes and actual biology. With biology it unfortunately doesn't matter what gender you are, the biology doesn't care, it still works the same. They NEED to learn that and differentiate.
Like I said, NTA OP. What a shit situation. I hope it gets better. I really do.
Comment 4:
NTA, your child is in fact a little idiot, with behavior that would be an absolute nightmare had you not been their parent. Also birth control isn’t a form of feminization, it’s a form of responsibility when you’re born in a body with a uterus and want to have sex that can result in pregnancy.
OOP's response:
Ugh, I wish I had those words when she hit me with that one. I sort of sputtered for a few minutes.
Comment 5:
Oh man, this is a can of worms within itself.
I wish I had better advice but just...I feel for you and the position you are stuck in.
The ONLY thing I can think of is, referring to breast feeding as "chest feeding" might make your NB daughter accept it more.
But like...there's a whole other level of things you need to get through first.
First and foremost, therapy, ASAP for your kid. Because she needs to get her head sorted out. Assuming you will just take this kid and raise it for her is...problematic to say the least. And she's got a deadline coming obviously, so therapy ASAP.
Also appointment for pregnancy checkups asap!! Has she had any? An unmonitored pregnancy can lead to complications
You might also be able to get her a social worker to go through pregnancy checkups, birthing extra.
Your kid needs a big sit down conversation about accountability for your own actions. And about how she might feel like part of YOUR actions lead to this, there was also many many choices she could have made to prevent this, that she chose not too. And at the end of the day, it was HER choices that led to this, not you.
OOP's response:
Thanks for this tip. I've written it down. The reason I mentioned she was NB because using 'breast' instead of 'chest' is the exact type of thing to send her into a pissy-fit when she's in the wrong mood. I know this may sound like a little thing, but she's always been... well, dramatic.
Because it's the internet and things are anonymous I'll admit that I am absolutely dreading pregnancy and afterbirth mood swings. Especially since it will all involve very womanly things in every intimate way. On top of the sheer stress of a newborn? Yes, I'm not looking forward to it at all and am already preparing to endure the storms.
Our conversation wasn't productive (it was an argument and she's still not out of her room) but I don't think she has had any prenatal care. That will change if I have anything to do with it.
Thanks again.
OOP commented with some of her concerns:
Yes. My worry and regret have so many places to go and a big part of it is for the baby.
This has been a bad day. :(
Responding to a comment regarding her child's entitled attitude:
Oh believe you me I have been kicking myself up and down on top of everything else. I don't know how she got to this point, but she's there now.
I wish I did have that time travel machine she clearly expects me to have.
She also clarified her overall views on the matter:
I'm on the fence. If she acted at all like she didn't have a gender (I believe that's what NB is) then I could take it more seriously. But she dresses as a woman. She puts on makeup, wears dresses during the summer, enjoys feminine things? We watch horse videos on youtube and squeal over the new foal videos. She's never been a tom boy, even.
But I was like, okay this isn't hurting her. I'll let her have this and express herself. Maybe it'll turn into something, maybe it won't. And after the first few weeks, she even dropped changing pronouns every day.
Her mentioning being NB faded and then started up hard again when high school ended and she started working retail.
I try to be understanding. Retail is hell and I'd personally only work it again if I was at my last resort. But recently it does seem to be an excuse not to work. And now she has a baby on the way.
This may not be the place for it, but I'm just worried she's regressing to a more child-like state. I don't know if she's struggling with being NB or if she's using NB as an excuse to shield herself from the world. Ugh. I guess the internet won't know, but I'm just flat out worried.
​
AITAH has no consensus bot but the comments were largely NTA.
​
Update: My NB Daughter Wants Me To Raise Her Baby - Feb 17, 2024
Hi,
This is an update to this post (Long story short my 18 year old NB daughter wanted me to raise her baby, and she told me she thinks the baby as her sibling. We had a blow-out, she locked herself in her room for most of a day, and then took off with her friends/her lover)
So this happened a few days ago but I didn’t update because I needed to get my head around it. It still doesn’t make sense.
Daughter finally unblocked me. She and the person who got her pregnant wanted to talk to me at a public place. We chose iHop.
Although I suspected I knew who her lover was, I was disappointed to find out because they have been a part of my daughter’s friend group since high school and was the only one I ever had a problem with and kicked out of my house.
They are trans now but two years ago the friend group was watching a movie in the living room, and every time I’d pass by, he (he was a he then) would lock eyes with me and make really obnoxious, loud, orgasm sounds like that scene in Harry Met Sally. I told him to knock it off and grew sterner when he did it again.
Then when I was in the kitchen, he somehow snuck up behind me and was miming jack-off movements with his hand. I turned around and caught him at it. He was still fully clothed, but it was startling and freaky. I kicked him out.
So now I’ll just call them Sperm-donor because that’s what they are.
I’m still calling my daughter ‘my daughter’ and ‘she’ because I still haven’t been told not to by her otherwise. So get off my case on that.
Anyway, the iHop meeting was a shit-show. Sperm-donor sat with my daughter and went on the attack. Sperm-donor’s points were:

• I was poisoning my daughter by “making” her take birth control. (I only helped her get the prescription and would have done everything I could if I knew she didn’t want to take the pill. There are other methods!)
• It will take years to “fix” my daughter after all I did. (Not giving her hormones even though I had no idea that was what she wanted. She dropped even wanting to change her pronouns after a few weeks.)
• Abortion is a sin and I am a monster for suggesting it. (It’s past the date anyway.)
• I am further abusing her by not taking care of the baby while she fixes herself. (I guess they meant it as a temp situation which was also new to me.)

So apparently even though I’m an abusive monster, a bad mother, and so on, I’m even worse for not taking in their baby. At least no one suggested that I raise it like my daughter’s sister anymore. That might have been my daughter’s thought on it.
Sperm-donor did most of the talking while my daughter just sat and glared at me, nodding along.
It was kind of a whirlwind, Sperm-donor pounded the table a few times, and even the waiter knew not to bother us after drinks, lol. I’m surprised we weren’t asked to leave.
There was a lot said, mostly by the sperm-donor who really seemed to be steering the ship. I asked why sperm-donor couldn’t take care of the baby and sperm-donor said their parents were even worse than me. I guess my daughter and sperm-donor taking care of the child they created is out of the question.
I told them that I would not be raising their baby for them and that adoption is the best bet. They said that if I don’t agree to raise it, they’ll make sure I’ll never see the baby ever.
I won’t raise their child for them. So that’s that, I guess.
I feel so many flavors of worried and angry and then worried all over again. I’ve been around the block and it’s never a great sign when the person you’re with makes an enemy of your family. That’s what sperm-donor has done by painting me as an abuser and failed mother who also won’t take in their baby. Sounds like sperm-donor has cut themselves off from their own family too. So I’m worried my daughter is in a very controlling relationship with someone who convinced her to stop birth control because they think hormones are too feminizing somehow and that she needs to be “fixed”. But they still want me to raise their baby.
I’m angry that my daughter can just hear this crap and nod along like, yeah, that makes total sense. She is not stupid. I think she’s love blinded.
I’m sad and worried for the baby. A couple commenters suggested I wanted nothing to do with the baby because I wouldn’t agree to raise it as my own. No, in a perfect world, I would want a normal grandmotherly relationship. Or at least know that the child is safe and has been adopted into a loving family.
I don’t care what my daughter does with her gender, or her body as long as she doesn’t hurt herself. I want her to be in a happy relationship with someone who values her for who she is. Sperm-donor kept using the word ‘fix’ which I see as another terrible sign.
It’s bad all around. My house is empty. It feels like my adult daughter has run off to join up with some weird church/cult thing who tells her that up is down. That not using birth control and not getting an abortion and then expecting others to take care of the child is all a-okay. Oh and that she’s a problem and needs to be “fixed”.
I texted her and said I would be there for her, but sperm-donor was still not welcome in the house. I think I’m blocked again.
She’s a legal adult. I’m not sure what else I can do at this point? In my low points, part of me thinks maybe I should agree to take the baby and then immediately make sure it’s adopted into a loving home. But I get the feeling that sperm-donor won’t make that easy, and right now my daughter does what he says. Also I’m not sure if that plan is even possible. It sounds Hollywood.
I have an appointment to speak with a councilor, but the soonest I could get is April. Some of my friends think I should take the baby in either to get them away from the parents or because they think it’s my duty, or both.
The only silver lining in this was that they both seemed sober. I don’t think there’s drugs involved.
Am I reading this wrong? Am I the asshole here?
Commenters agreed that sperm donor's comments made no sense, and that OOP's child was probably stuck in an abusive relationship:
Comment 1:
For your safety, I would change the locks and put up camera, Sperm-donor seems unhinged. I’m a firm believer in better safe than sorry.
Comment 2:
This baby will be used as a pawn in his never ending psycho drama. If they do not and cannot raise their baby, the best solution is adoption. Otherwise, the father will make your life a living hell.
NTA
OOP's response:
I couldn't figure out a polite way of saying this, but yes. That is my suspicion if I take in their baby. Sperm-donor implied it would be temporary while earlier my daughter said it would be permanent. I think sperm-donor will refuse to sign over paperwork when the time comes or try to leverage it in some way.
Comment 3:
NTA also it sounds like your daughter is in an abusive relationship with this person. Sorry your daughter has been brain washed by this crazy person. I would definitely contact this sperm donors family and if they seem sane warn them about how crazy both of spoke to you.
OOP's response:
That is my fear, and not a bad idea to contact sperm-donor's parents. This has all happened so far, I feel like I'm in shock and I'm very worried.
Comment 4:
Pretty wild that a trans person is saying abortion is a sin. None of this is anything like what you're going to hear from any healthy LGBT community, who are quite careful to make sure not to support people in delusional or antisocial behavior. Definitely get therapy, sounds like your kid has some serious mental health problems if they're being influenced by whatever wackos put these ideas into their head. You're going to need support in coping with this madness. NTA by a country mile. You are in no way "abusing" your kid by refusing to take responsibility for their bad choices.
OOP's response:
Thank you and yes, I don't want to minimize my daughter's role in it but the hard anti-abortion thing surprised me too. A lot of what they said contradicted itself. It felt like I was sitting across from two people who were in their own wacko bubble.
I know it's not a LGBT thing. I wish someone from their community would knock some sense into them, if its even possible at this point.
​
OOP hasn't posted since the last update.
Reminder - I am not the original poster. DO NOT COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS.

Short disclaimer! I'm German and dislexic. If there are words spelled wrong or a sentence is not in the correct order I'm sorry. The story will have age changes, right now I'm (f19). Now this is out the way I can start.
Lets start from the beginning. In january 2011 my Mom died from Cancer. I Was 5 at the time but turned 6 on the end of february, the same year I started school. But since my Mom died my Dad was single an tried to give me a happy life even if he worked all the time. Sometimes he had a girlfriend but I only knew two so it wasn't a big deal for me.
In 2016 (I was now 11) I was visiting my Aunt on summer break. She doesn't live near us at all so my Dad let my travel by train, he would bring me to the trainstation and also pick me up. On the end of summer break I traveled back home and my Dad picked me up. On our way home he tolled me that I shouldn't be confused about the women that would wait in front of our house. To be honest it freaked me out because he tolled me that she is his girlfriend. He never said something about it or even gave me a hint he dated someone. It's non of my buissnes but I had no time to even think about it befor I was meeting her. When we parked in front of our house I saw her and she looked alright, we greeted eachother and it was fine. Not a great start but alright I guess. We were sometimes at her place and I could use her tablet and computer so I was fine.
In 2017 she moved in with us. But the house we were living in was not big enough for three people but I had my own room so I didn't care. But after she moved in the real trouble startet. First small things like that I was to loud or that I'm to much at home and little stuff like that. In 2018 when I was 13 I was do lazy and was yelled at for not cleaning the house after I would come home from school (side note: she would come home like 30min after I did. Also I had a 1 hour way from school so I was literally dead after coming home). She always would give little remarkes on everything but was nice when my Dad was around. I startet my period this year and at first she was great helping me with this stuff and I was so greatfull, but the it startet again things like I was disgusting for bleeding throug the pad and I always have to know when I start my period so the blood will not stain my underwear (By the way I already was washing my laundry myself because she didn't want to anymore, so she didn't even have to deal with that). Also at this time my appetit went down so I startet eating less and also bringing some of my lunch back home. I was getting yelled at for not eating everything so I startet giving my food away or even throw it away. At some point I forgot to throw it away and startet hiding it under my desk I tried to get rid of it but it would pile up.
I changed school and we moved. At one point i was to slow to pack my stuff so she would do it and she found the food pile. After that she said I hat a ED (witch I didn't) so she took me to a "specialist" who told her that I have to write down what I ate in a day. I did that and the specialist then tolled her that I was just growing and so did my doctor. At first it was fine and then one day i didn't finish my dinner and it started again I had to write everything down what I ate in a day and she would count my calories. Then she accused me of chating with someone who would tell me to get an ED so she would check my Phone all the time (she gifted it to me so I couldn't do much about it). Then she let me clean the house while she was watching TV. A little bevor we moved my Dad and her tried to get pregnant but she hat early misccaraiges. At one point she had my Dad wraped around her finger and she could do anything. I got punished for the stranges things. Like I wasn't coming home right after school ended and was talking with my friends or eating food that I didn't buy. And yeah at some point I had to buy my own things because she said I would always throw away what she would buy me. I had my pocket money to buy things and I had to buy everything besides bread and dinner stuff. I had to sit at the table till i finished my food even if I was sitting there for two houres. Sometimes I got punished for that and wasn't allowed to sleep in my room. At some point i had to leave my Phone on the kitchen table so she could controlle it. I hat to sleep on the cold floor in front of my room next to the stairs or wasn't allowed to even enter my room without permission.
One day while I had to sleep in the guest room and wasn't allowed in my room I asked her if I could get something out of my room because I needed it for school the next day and befor I even finished she startet yelling, at some point I just startet crying as she blew of on me and then as she startet to push me on the guest bed she startet accusing me of always saying that it is so much worse to loose your Mom then to loose a Baby. I tried to argue that this was not true and that I never said that. I was scared and wispered to me that I want my Mom to be with me but never said anything like that. After my dad came home she tolled him that I said that bs and he belived her as always so i got punished more. My dad tolled me to get my things and go sleep on the streets. Because I was scared I packed in a small backpack just a few things and then ran in my room to get the plush my mom gave to me at birth that made him even more angry so as i was walking out of the door in tears he grabed my bag and my Phone and pushed me out of the door. I didn't knew what to do so I walked around the corner to the bakery and then went inside. Crying I asked a women who worked there to tell me where the police Station is (i didn't knew the village that well at this point) she asked me what happend and I tolled her. She grabed me an got me to her car. My dad walked outside and yelled at me but couldn't make a big deal out of it because there were to many people. The women tolled him she will get me to the police station. At the Station i tolled what happend and two cops drove me back home. The old one went inside and the younger one was talking to me in the car. But after a few minutes they gave me back to my dad and said it was a missunderstanding. I was terrified and so scared. Inside I got yelled at and they threatened me if this incident is on there recorde I will get a big punishment.
In 2021 (I'm 16) I startet my apprenticeship and there I met my beautifull girlfriend. I tolled her about this bs and she helped me with everything. She helped me get out of there (if someone wants the whole Story about that I could tell you). But now my dad tells me that if i want him in my life i need to accept her. I could tell you even more bs but the story is long enough.
But for a happy Endingen. I live now together with my beautifull girlfriend and our pets. My trauma is getting better and i feel safer.
So for the end AITA?

Race Information

• Name: BMO Vancouver Marathon 2024
• Date: May 5th, 2024
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Vancouver, BC
• Website: https://bmovanmarathon.ca/
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11341057303
• Time: 3:33:31

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	Sub 3:20	No
B	Sub 3:30	No
C	PB (Sub 3:34)	Barely

Splits

Mile	Time
1	7:39
2	7:30
3	7:51
4	7:51
5	7:51
6	8:11
7	8:58
8	8:25
9	8:14
10	8:07
11	7:54
12	7:49
13	7:40
14	8:14
15	8:29
16	8:15
17	8:10
18	8:18
19	8:21
20	8:10
21	7:40
22	7:46
23	7:36
24	7:58
25	8:10
26	7:38
26.2	7:02

Training

My last marathon was Toronto back in October, where I ran 3:34 (race report here).
I mostly followed whatever Garmin's auto-suggested runs were. My goal since last summer has primarily been to improve my aerobic pace with Z2 running. Comparing my HR during runs now to last year seems to indicate I've seen a lot of improvement there, and I can feel that. Another goal of mine since my last race was to work on strength after having issues with my adductors and glute, but I don't think I quite followed through on that. For the first few months of the year I was okay about going to the gym and doing leg curls, split squats, and core work, but I kind of fell out of the habit eventually. I also went to a few strength training classes that would leave me sore for several days, but I need to do that more often to really build on it; I did feel my hamstrings were stronger from doing deadlifts and step-downs.
In some of my long runs I wore a vest and had the idea that maybe I'll carry a vest during the race this time so that I could always have hydration and even add some pomegranate juice/coconut water to a flask for easy access to carbs and electrolytes. This worked well, but I ultimately decided after the training runs that the bouncing would be too annoying, I would sweat more because of the vest, and I am pretty good about drinking lots of water outside of running.
I didn't do a lot of speed work in my training, but when I did up the intensity, I noticed I would sometimes feel some tightness on the right side of my chest, which is an issue I had in high school. At the time I was worried it was a heart issue, but I got a lot of tests done to indicate there were no issues. The issue is that I don't change up how I breathe between easy runs (long, slow breaths) and hard runs. I think I need to breathe more intensely to avoid diaphragm tightness, and more speed training will help with that.
My shoe rotation was Saucony Triumph 20s as my daily trainers, Kinvara 13s as my speed shoe, and I picked up a pair of Endorphin Speed 3s from Winners for $60 a few months ago which I've been using for speed and long runs, which complement my Endorphin Pro 3 race shoes.
My Garmin race prediction was 3:19. My personal feeling was that I could achieve that goal if it was a flat race, but I was skeptical on how I would perform on the course. I looked up other race reviews, watched a video of the race, and tried to think about how I would handle the hills, but knew that I didn't have enough experience to not have it be a factor.

Pre-race

Flight and Expo

Two Fridays before the race I did Anaerobic intervals and that was probably a mistake because my adductor was sore for over 4 days after that. I probably still felt the effects of that on race day.
I did my 5k shakeout run in my race shoes Friday morning. I had leftover pasta before leaving for the airport in the late afternoon. I flew to Vancouver on in the evening, arriving at night.
On Saturday, I went to the grocery store immediately after waking up since it was closed after we arrived the night before. The main things I got for myself that were race-relevant were gluten free quick oats, coconut water, apple and orange juice, honey, sunflower seed butter, soy milk, and a carton of cold brew coffee.
I went to the expo to get my bib before we got lunch in Gastown. We went to MeeT, and I got the Philly Cheezesteak Poutine and Oyster Mushroom Calamari which I shared with my GF. They had an issue with my friend's order so they offered him a free dessert which he was nice enough to share, so I got to have a bit of his brownie too!
After lunch I recommended everyone check out Stanley Park on their own so I could go home and rest my legs. I stopped by Nesters to pick up a GF Caulipower Pizza for dinner to have with some juice. My blood sugar spiked from the poutine at lunch, so I took some insulin to correct that, pre-emptively took insulin for the pizza I was about to have, and took a nap. After that, I put the pizza in the AirBnB's toaster oven (on top of some foil to avoid cross-contamination), but this ended up being a mistake. We discovered later in the week that the toaster oven stops working after a minute or two. When I ate my pizza I noticed it was a bit soft but figured it may have just been the texture: now I know it was likely undercooked, and I feel stupid for not realizing that.

Race Day

The start time for the marathon was 8:30am and I was in the first corral. I woke up at 5:30am and had my oatmeal (quick oats microwaved in water, a spoon of sunflower seed butter, splash of soy milk, superseed blend (chia, hemp, and toasted buckwheat groats), and honey), and a tall glass of cold brew coffee + soy milk. Shortly after waking up I realized I had an upset stomach, so naturally I started feeling stressed that I would have GI issues during the race (see comments about the pizza above). We worried that I may have accidentally ingested gluten due to my group of 7 having gluten in my vicinity, not realizing it was probably the pizza. I had to use the washroom a few times, and hoped it would pass. I had a 500ml bottle of nuun with water mixed with orange juice that I sipped on for the next hour since I saw a Ben Parker video where he did that. Thankfully I wasn't stuck in the bathroom all morning, but I was worried I would feel sick during the race.
With me I brought:

• 5 Huma gels (I don't recall if any of them were caffeinated, but it was Blueberry, Chocolate, and Mocha flavours). I had 2 left after the race.
• 2 Larabars (1 cashew cookie, 1 peanut butter chocolate chip)
• A pack of salt tabs (I'd never taken one but got a free sample at the SF marathon and wanted to have them in case I cramped up for emergency purposes)
• Insulin pump and phone (wish I didn't need to carry a pump with me but it is what it is)
• GF cookies and cream Honey Stinger waffle
• A ziploc bag with two Gravels in case of stomach issues

I was staying in Mount Pleasant and wasn't close to a SkyTrain station. It would have been a 45 minute walk to the start line, but I intended to walk to Main Street and take the 8am bus going south (I originally meant to take the 7:45 bus but my stomach problems delayed my exit). I got to the stop at 7:55, saw a bus approach a few minutes later thinking it was mine, but it said "Sorry, not in service." Oh well, I thought, it'll probably come in a minute. A few minutes pass and no bus came. A different one did that wasn't the one I needed to take. I checked the Transit app and the bus I needed to get on was showing as having already passed. I guess it was the "not in service" one? Maybe it was full? I asked some people at the bus stop who looked like they were spectators, and they were also confused. We ended up walking from there, but I jogged since I needed to get to the start line with some time to spare. During the jog I could tell that my muscles were really tight, which didn't give me a lot of confidence about how the race would do go. I still made it to the start area around 8:15. I stood in line at one of the porta-potties and did my dynamic warm-up routine while waiting. I just made it out of there at 8:28 and rushed over to the start line while gobbling down on my Honey Stinger Waffle and taking a bit of insulin since my blood sugar was already a bit high. Unfortunately, I hastily got into the start line area wherever I could, and I ended up 3 or 4 corrals after the first. I tried as hard as I could to squeeze between people as politely as possible to try and get to my corral. Unfortunately I just missed it, so I ended up being at the front of the 2nd corral, which was fine given what my final time was; I just wish I hadn't wasted energy trying to rush to the front around everyone.

Race

1-6

I started feeling pretty strong, but I also know that my HR takes some time to go up when I start my runs, so I knew I would get cocky in the beginning. My dynamic warm up helped loosen up my glutes and hips, which I was worried about when I jogged to the start line, but immediately when the run started I could feel tightness in my hamstring. Not a great sign but I tried not to focus on it and accept that it's race time so I'll just have to do my best.
I was worried about the hills going in because I didn't do a lot of hill training, and I suck at running down hills. I understand that I simultaneously shouldn't run downhill too quickly to avoid bonking later on, but I also need to use the steady downhills to make up for the time I was going to lose on the climb at Cambie. I went to my physio a few weeks before the race and told her about how I feel tightness in my knee when I run downhill; she helped make adjustments and gave me exercises to do to help my knee feel more comfortable on downhills; they definitely helped, but I still don't have the right technique for running downhill optimally in a way that doesn't cause me to waste energy slowing myself down. I was a little bit ahead of pace by the time I got to the dreaded hill.

7-13

The hill obviously sucked, but that was expected. It was stressful to go slow and have my heart rate go so high, but I tried to keep a consistent cadence going up. At the top of the hill I had a hard time bringing my HR down while maintaining a decent pace. It looks like it took me a few miles after the sharp ascent before I got back to target pace. My hamstring hurting didn't help with this.
The scenery was beautiful and hearing all the positivity around me helped keep my spirits up. After having a gel and trying to pick up the pace a bit I could feel my stomach starting to rumble, so I took one of my gravols and slowed down. I figured they take time to have effect so I wanted to take them early.
I spent a lot of the race alone, which was nice when I would pass by spectators calling my name. It was nice to hear people cheering me on and comment how I wasn't even breaking a sweat. There was a jazz band playing before we arrived at UBC which was awesome to hear.
Right before the halfway mark was a steep downhill. I tried my best to avoid speeding up too much because there was still a lot of race to go. The views of the mountains at the turn were beautiful.

14-21

I started feeling a bit discouraged because my heart rate was in the 170s even though I wasn't going too fast, but my legs were still hurting from the beginning. I read online about how the Burrard Street bridge is brutal and the part of the race where many people hit the wall, so my mind was entirely on that. I also asked my friends to be at the bridge; they already had to go downtown at 9am to see the half marathoners finish and to get one of the people staying with us to his 8k start line at 9:30am. I didn't check my phone during the race but I would see Whatsapp notifications pop up on my watch, and it gave me motivation to see that they were on the way, and also comment on how fast I was going :)
I don't think I had trouble going through the bridge, which motivated me. I also saw a notification saying "we are at the end of the bridge" so I was prepared for that. I saw my friends, gave them a high five, and picked up my pace probably a bit too much 😅
I felt strong going into Stanley Park, but read about how it could be brutal, and was nervous about my HR being in the high 170s already.

21 - Finish

I was mentally prepared for Stanley Park. I was expecting it to be completely dead, but that was not the case for the first half of the Seawall with the aid and cheer stations. The second-half was definitely quiet, but I had my Shokz on playing some music that was fitting for the scenery (Amenra and Septicflesh). It was a bit hard to pick up the pace as the course was a bit tight but I was able to do so. I saw some bloodshed though; one woman was completely covered in a foil blanket with a vested individual standing over her on his phone, one man on a bench with his arm dangling who may have been unresponsive, with some staff rushing back in his direction after I passed him, and one person who started cramping, moved to the side yelling "Fuck!" I yelled at him "You got his!" but immediately realized that maybe those weren't the right words for someone who was cramping up. Not sure what I should have said, though. I started cramping up a tiny bit, my pump was complaining that my blood sugar was dropping, and so I decided to take a gel because I figured it had some electrolytes, and it had been a half hour since my last one. In retrospect I think perhaps a salt tab would have been more useful, but I didn't want to do anything new on race day, even if I only had just over a mile left.
After we left Stanley Park, I felt fine enough to kick up the pace. I saw my friends during the finish and they got some great pictures of me. I was disappointed at how close I was to not PB'ing but at least I reached that milestone. Finishing strong had me feeling like I was holding back elsewhere during the race.

Post-race

I got my medal and felt fine walking to bag check. I picked up a banana and a bottle of the fancy bottled water on the way. I felt sad passing by the sandwiches I couldn't eat. There were also bags of chips that I feel really stupid for skipping. For some reason I scanned the bag for a GF label, but I found out a week later that the brand they had was gluten-free: the GF logo was on the top left, and for some reason I didn't check there.
I passed by a change tent on the way, so I went back there after getting my bag. I put on my hoodie, while bending down to take off my shoes my right adductor started cramping very intensely. I asked someone who was sitting close to me if I could steal their chair and I sat down. I text my friends letting them know I'm in the tent but had a crazy cramp and so was going to take some time to get up. I munched on the banana I had and took a salt cap that I thankfully still had on me. It felt like it took forever but it was probably only 10 minutes until I was able to stand up and lean against a table again to continue putting on my joggers and sandals. It was raining lightly, which was a bit annoying since I was wearing socks with sandals, but it wasn't too heavy. I met up with my friends, got some pictures, and we headed out.
Unfortunately, one of my friends in the group was made aware on Little Red Book that the Lululemon stores downtown had a deal for that day only to get 20% off our purchase if you show your medal/bib. We ended up going to Lululemon 3 times because I'm bad at saying no, so it took a while to get home. We did go to Nuba in Yaletown for lunch which was really good. That night we went to East is East for dinner, which was nice, though in hindsight I should have realized that the loud music made it not the best choice when what I wanted was to feel relaxed and cozy.
We stayed in Vancouver for an extra week and we flew back on the 12th. It was a wonderful stay and I felt depressed coming back. I wish I could have gone on more hikes and even gone trail running through all the beautiful trails in the area.

Retrospective

• I think I ran too conservatively because I was worried about stomach issues (valid given the morning). I needed more electrolytes, though. Overall the race felt easier than Toronto, so it was frustrating that I didn't get a bit closer to my goal time.
• I also wonder how I would have performed if I ran slower in the first half. I know that's the recommendation, but part of me felt like slowing down on some of the downhills would have required me to adjust my form and engage muscles in a way that could have wasted energy. Something to consider for next time, though.
• I wore half tights this time as I had issues with my shorts falling down too much in Toronto. Surprisingly I had that issue this time too! I guess it's a combination of my race belt weighing my shorts down (maybe I should wear it higher?), the weight of Larabars, phone, and pump in my shorts weighing them down (I'm pretty sure I trained like this though), and me losing over 7 lbs in training that caused this. Not sure what I'll do for the next race beyond do more practice in race gear to see what adjustments I need to make.
• I feel like I didn't do a lot of speed work this time around, and any time I did anaerobic runs my adductor would be very sore, so I need to improve my strength there and really build up my speed again. I also need to focus on how I breathe when working hard instead of worrying about breathing in through my mouth too much. My watch would cancel out speed workouts often times because of my lack of sleep and because of my bike commutes and volleyball sessions, so I need to start planning out my own workouts instead of being too much of a slave to my watch's suggestions.
• I'll stop using Kinvara 13s as speed shoes; I'll wear them for some easy runs maybe, or even transition them to daily walkers/gym shoes. I have the Endorphin Speed 3s for speed work now. I also got a pair of Kinvara 14s from Winners for about $50, and the increased cushioning in them might be less likely to cause excessive soreness after doing fast intervals.
• I liked eating Larabars for energy. I am considering continuing with that and also perhaps making my own gels (mostly maple syrup, ginger, salt, and lemon juice is what I'm thinking, perhaps with some chia seeds or subbing for honey) to bring in reusable containers to reduce waste, perhaps be more appealing to consume even without water, and produce less waste/stickiness. Gels also get pricey, it's annoying that Huma's + gels with electrolytes aren't available locally here, and I figure less refined sources of energy would be better than processed foods.
• I want to do dedicated hill and/or trail workouts; I should set time for myself to bike to an area close by to do those as they are fun and will definitely improve my fitness
• There are a few places in Toronto that do Hot/Cold therapy (Othership and Alter) I've been meaning to check out for almost a year. I need to stop being lazy and shy about it and just go because I think it's something I'll like, although I would probably only go once a month considering how much it costs.
• After my last marathon I felt regret that my legs were sore before the race. I tried to fix that this time but wasn't successful. I guess walking to/from work on Friday, then walking with my luggage to the train station and then walking a lot in the airport to get to the gate contributed to that. I went to the expo the next day intending not to spend too much time there, but I was with a group and the people I was with wanted to spend time at a lot of the tables so I ended up on my feet for longer than I probably should have been. I should probably also review the training I do on the last week and maybe consider not even walking to work or biking around town for errands to try and conserve myself more.
• My sleep habits are shit. I watched the Running Channel's recent video on recovering after the London Marathon and Sarah's watch showed that she would casually get over 8 hours and have a sleep score of 90, which is unimaginable to me 😭. I need to change that and intend to do so immediately.
• On the one hand I should prioritize getting to the start line earlier, but I also want to leave as late as possible to avoid having to depend on a crowded port-a-potty. I think this would not have been an issue if my stomach wasn't upset that morning.
• I want to get a running form analysis done. There are a lot of places around me that offer that service and I can get it partially covered under my physio benefits through work.

Looking Forward

I definitely feel like I can PB by a significant margin if I have more discipline in my training, sleep better, and avoid the race day issues I faced. I am still deciding where to do a Fall marathon though. I am trying to weight between what would be a fun race, what would be a good place to travel to and stay for some time after the race, and what would not be too tough of a course. I'm considering the following so far:

• Loch Ness Marathon
  • + I've seen it recommended here a lot, and the Scottish Highlands look beautiful.
  • + Traveling to Europe is nice because it's easy to travel elsewhere on the continent if I do an extended stay before heading back
  • - International travel could make it harder to have an ideal race day, and reading race reports make me nervous about how I may have to take an early bus and stand around the start line for a long time
  • - I'm not sure how good public transit in the area would be since it's rural compared to big cities. I don't like driving if I don't have to and I don't like to use taxis or rideshare
• St George, UT
  • + Downhill marathon, although I think I would prefer a flat marathon as that seems like it would be technically easier unless the decline was light.
  • + I want to explore the southwest canyons as I've never been and it would be fun to explore the hikes in the area afterwards assuming recovery isn't a problem
  • - Presumably no shade since it's down a canyon
  • - Would need a car to get everywhere. Traveling to this area would be for doing a lot of active things but if I give it my all during a marathon it could feel like an incomplete experience.
• Malaga Marathon
  • + Popular flat marathon
  • + Love Spain, but didn't visit Malaga when I went last year. Lots of gluten free food in the area
  • + It's in December, which gives me a lot of time to train and knock out some half marathons in the meantime
  • - I suck at traveling to places where I don't speak the language due to social anxiety. This could be a good way to help get over that and work on it, though.
  • - It being late means it could be a good candidate for a backup marathon in case a primary marathon doesn't go well for whatever reason
• Victoria, BC
  • + BC is beautiful. I wouldn't have to worry about language barriers, and this is a place I would be down to stay for some time after the race.
  • + The race is well-rated for beauty
  • - While not too difficult, the race has a lot of rolling hills, so it will be mildly technical the whole way through
  • - Maybe too similar to Vancouver? Should I prioritize traveling somewhere else instead of doing another week-long BC trip?

Upcoming local races I'm signed up for are a 10k in June by the waterfront, and a 10k in September on the Toronto Island. I would like to see how close I can get to 40 minutes if I wore my Endorphin Speed 3s. I'm hoping to pick training back up this week, but not ramp up too quickly.
I also want to sign up for trail races because trail running is fun. It's unfortunate how it's hard to participate without relying on a car, though.
I may do the Presidio Half Marathon in San Francisco at the end of June; I was offered free registration so long as I record and upload the race as I did for the San Francisco Marathon; it looks like flights to the area area bit pricey at this time though, so even if I stay with a friend it might be a bit too much right now.
Made with a new race report generator created by herumph.

”Stop.”
I really needed the bathroom.
For fifty painstaking minutes, I had been staring at the clock on the wall, willing it to go faster, uncomfortably shifting side to side in my seat so much that I was starting to get weird looks.
2:52pm.
Eight minutes, I thought dizzily, squeezing my legs together.
Which was just two chunks of four minutes.
Four chunks of two minutes.
The pain started like normal stomach pain, the kind I could deal with.
I swallowed two Tylenol with lukewarm soda.
But this was different.
This kind of pain was contorting and twisting my gut so much, I had to keep leaning onto my left buttock for relief.
I must have done it so many times, I caught the attention of the guy sitting next to me. Roman Hemlock who was half asleep, dark blonde curls hanging in half lidded eyes, his chin leaning on his fist. He shot me a look. I couldn't tell if it was Are you okay? or Can you stop moving around so much?
From the single crease in his brow, the slight curl in his lip, I guessed the latter.
It's not like Roman was helping.
For half the class, he'd been tapping his foot on the floor, then his chair leg, and to complete the orchestra, his fingers joined in, tap, tap, tapping on the edge of his desk. I didn't know if it was a bored thing, an ADHD thing, or he was trying to keep himself awake. It was easy to tolerate without the pain, but with it, the boy’s incessant tapping was more akin to a dentist drill splitting my skull open. I already felt nauseous, the sad looking chicken nuggets I forced down at lunch making an unwelcome appearance at the back of my throat.
It was too fucking hot, the stuffy summer air glueing my hair to the back of my neck. The material of my shirt was making me cringe, sticky against my skin.
Tipping my head back, the lights were too bright. Every sound was too loud. Imogen Prairie, who was sitting behind me chewing her gum a little too loudly.
Kaz Samuels scribbling notes like a maniac.
I could hear every stroke of his pencil, every time he paused, looked up at the presentation, and continued writing.
When I leaned forward in my chair, I could smell exactly what Isabella Trinity had eaten for lunch, the stink hanging in the air.
It became a case of sucking in my stomach and taking slow, deep breaths.
I’d never had these kinds of stomach cramps before. But it didn't take me long to figure out what they were.
I was yet to start my period at the grand age of sixteen, which meant this was it.
After countless sessions with the doctor, and feeling like a social outcast among my group of friends who started their periods in middle school, it had finally happened. The cramps in my gut that felt like my torso was being ripped apart, was in fact me entering womanhood. When my breath started to quicken, my mouth watering, I raised my hand, biting my lip against a cry.
Fuck.
Something lurched in my gut, a wave of nausea crashing into me.
I was going to throw up.
“Mr Brighton.”
Roman spoke up before me, waving his arm. “Can I use the bathroom?”
The teacher’s answer was always the same. Which was why I had been crossing my legs for the entirety of the class, unable to focus on anything but my gut trying to twist itself inside out.
Mr Brighton leaned against the wall, his eyes glued to the PowerPoint awash in our faces. We had been staring at the exact same slide for maybe five minutes now, and our physics teacher was yet to speak, his gaze somewhere else.
Mr Brighton was my Dad’s age, a greying man in his early fifties who always wore the exact same suit with the exact same stain on his collar.
The man was about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Normally, I would drift off myself, lulled into slumber by the low drone of his voice.
But the pain ripping me apart was keeping me awake.
“Mr Brighton.” Roman said, louder. His voice snapped me out of it. “Can I use the bathroom?” He paused, exaggerating a loud sigh. ”Please?”
The teacher straightened up, folding his arms.
“Mr Hemlock, you know the rules. Why didn't you go before class?”
“I didn't need to go an hour ago, did I?”
“You will no longer need to go to the bathroom, Mr Hemlock.”
Roman made a snorting noise.
“What?”
The low murmur of my classmates collapsed into white noise.
Glancing at the clock, I was anticipating the school bell.
The sickness swimming in the pit of my belly was reaching dangerous territory.
2:52pm.
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
It was 2:52 the last time I checked, and five minutes had surely passed.
This time, I waited a whole minute and counted the seconds under my breath. The clock still didn't move. The ticker was frozen halfway between three and four.
Slowly, the same realisation began to hit the twelve of us. The clock on the wall had stopped. But it wasn't the only thing that had stopped. The cool breeze drifting through the window was gone.
The sound of birds outside, and the cheer squad practising their routine.
Everything had stopped. Trying to ignore a sickly slither of panic twisting its way through me, I checked my phone under my desk. There was a text from my Mom lighting up my notifications. When I tried to swipe it open, nothing happened. My lock screen was frozen, stuck at 2:52pm.
With my hands growing clammy around my phone, I stared at the time, willing it to move, to flick to 2:53.
But nothing happened, the numbers stubbornly staying at 2:52.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Roman’s voice brought me back to reality, though I was sure I'd dropped my phone. I heard it hit the floor with a sickening crack. Whatever he was saying, though, faded into dull murmur, when I turned toward the window.
Something was wrong outside.
The cheer squad were nowhere to be seen.
Being on the top floor gave us a front row seat to their practice sessions.
I stopped watching when their flyer did a death defying flip, almost breaking her neck. 2:52pm. I couldn't see the cheer squad. But I did see Jessie Carson mid-sprint across the track field, strawberry blonde curls suspended in a halo around her.
I could see exactly where she had frozen in place, her left foot hovering off of the ground, her right foot driving momentum. It wasn't just Jessie who had stopped. The dirt she was kicking into a cloud behind her was hovering, caught in mid-air.
Studying the faces around me, my mouth went dry.
Roman Hemlock, mid-argument with our physics teacher.
His eyes were wide, lips curved into what would have been a yell.
Fuck.
Was I the only one?
But then Roman blinked, and I realized the boy wasn't frozen. He was trying to think of a comeback. “What do you mean I won't need the bathroom anymore?”
“Mr Hemlock, please lower your voice.”
“Why? You can't dictate to me when I do and don't need the bathroom, dude!”
Moving onto the rest of my class, the others were still moving.
It was too quiet, though.
Yes, Roman was still tapping his foot.
Imogen was still chewing her gum.
Kaz was still scribbling notes like a psychopath.
But they were the only noise I could hear.
I wasn't the only one confused. The classroom had pricked with a sense of urgency. Kids were checking their phones, their gazes glued to the clock. Even Roman, who was still arguing, was starting to notice. I watched his gaze lazily roll to the clock on the wall.
I pretended not to see his cheeks visibly paling.
We had all come to the exact same terrifying conclusion.
2:52pm.
Time had come to a halt, and somehow, we had not.
“Is that clock broken?” Roman interrupted, leaning forward in his chair.
Kaz twisted around, settling the boy with an eye-roll.
“Check your phone, dumbass.”
“I broke my phone.”
Imogen threw her iPhone at him, narrowly missing hitting him in the face.
“Everything is frozen,” She said, her voice shuddering. “It's not just the clock.”
I waited for Roman’s response. For once, though, he was speechless.
“Well done, Imogen. That is correct.” Mr Brighton spoke up, tearing a piece of paper from a workbook and striding over to the door, glueing it over the glass window. When we started to protest, some of us were shouting, while others bursting into tears, he calmly took out his key and locked us in.
I should have been surprised that our teacher had spontaneously decided to take his entire class hostage, but the rumor mill had been churning.
According to Becca Jason, the guy’s wife divorced him and took his kids.
I could feel myself sinking into my chair, phantom bugs filling my mouth.
So, this guy had nothing to lose.
Taking his place in front of his desk, the man settled us with a patient smile.
“From now on, you will stay inside this room.” He said. “In case you haven't noticed, time is currently frozen at fifty two minutes past two. The thirteen of us are tucked into the twenty first second, and will be, for the foreseeable future.”
I could tell the others wanted to argue, but we couldn't deny that time had stopped. Kaz was staring down at his frozen phone, Imogen hyperventilating behind me, Roman glaring at the clock, chewing on a pencil. We wanted it to be a prank, a joke, some kind of glitch in the matrix that would fix itself.
But then a whole minute passed by. Followed by another. Kaz threw his phone on the floor, hissing in frustration. Imogen let out a wet sounding sob.
Roman’s pencil split in his mouth, slipping from his fingers. We couldn't pretend it wasn't happening or call our teacher out on his BS, because it was everywhere around us. The sudden absence of outdoor ambience, birdsong, planes flying overhead, and traffic outside the school gates. Everyone and everything had stopped, and we were the only ones left.
This was a nightmare, surely.
My physics class were some of the most boring and pretentious people in the school, and somehow the world had been reduced to the twelve of us inside our classroom. We were scared, of course we were. But reality had stopped making sense, crashing and burning in a single second. We had no choice but to listen to our teacher. “Now, before you freak out, it may not feel like it, but the twelve of you have also stopped.”
Mr Brighton held out his own hand, and placed it on his heart.
He was right.
I was so busy trying to understand what was happening, I had failed to realize my period cramps were gone.
“Do me a favor, and press your hand over your heart.”
“You mean like, in a culty way?” Imogen whispered.
“Obviously.” Roman grumbled, halfway out of his seat. He was hesitant, though, in case our teacher was armed. It only took one glance from our teacher, and he slumped back into his chair. “This crazy fucker clearly wants to play mind games with us.”
“No, I'm just asking you to feel for your heart.”
I felt for mine, and there was nothing, my stomach twisting.
Roman stabbed his fingers into his neck, feeling for a pulse.
He tried his wrist.
Then his heart.
Nothing.
“The twelve of you are currently in a state of stasis,” the teacher explained to us, “You are not alive, nor are you dead. Your bodily functions are also on pause, such as your heartbeat and your pulse. In this state there will be no need for food and water, or going to the bathroom.” His gaze found a ghastly looking Roman, who looked like he was going to faint. “Your minds, however, as you can see, are working as usual.”
“But why?” Imogen demanded in a shriek.
Mr Brighton’s lip curled. “I would rather not answer that question.”
“Because you're lonely.” Roman spoke up. He swung back on his chair, narrowed eyes glued to the teacher.
“Your wife and kids left you, so you're asserting power over a group of sixteen year olds. Which is kinda fucking pathetic.”
Mr Brighton’s expression darkened, and something slimy crept up my throat.
The worst thing any of us could do was threaten him. He had taken kidnapping to a whole new level, and we were alone with this psychopath, trapped inside a second. I waited for the man to stride forward and attack the kid. But he didn't. Instead, the teacher leaned back on his desk. “Yes.” The man nodded.
“I suppose you could say I am.”
“But why us?!” Kaz hissed.
“Because you are children.” Mr Brighton responded casually.
He straightened up, taking slow, intimidating steps towards Roman’s desk. The rest of us leaned back. I tried to pull my desk with me, but it was glued to the floor. Frozen. Mr Brighton’s shoes went click-clack across the hardwood floor.
“You are right,” the man said in a murmur, “I am lonely. My wife and kids did leave me, and I have nobody left to control. I have nobody else to contort and use to my advantage.” Reaching Roman’s desk, he leaned in close until he was nose to nose with the kid.
“Congratulations, Mr Hemlock. You have just earned yourself detention.”
Roman stayed stubbornly still, but he was visibly afraid. I could see him very slowly backing away. Roman was all bark and no bite. He was a loud mouth, sure, but he was also the least confrontational person in the class.
“What?” He spluttered. “You trap us in a time loop or time trap, or whatever, and you still want to act like a teacher?”
“Stand up.” The teacher ordered.
“What if I don't?”
Mr Brighton’s expression didn't waver. “You said it yourself. I can and have trapped you inside a single second. What else do you think I'm capable of?”
Roman stood, kicking his chair out of the way.
“What are you planning on doing to me, old man?”
The teacher maintained his smile. “Stand up straight, and close your mouth.”
To my confusion, Roman Hemlock did all the above.
He straightened up, and closed his mouth.
“Do not fight me.” The teacher said calmly, “Do as you are told, and follow me.”
The boy did exactly as instructed.
His jaw slackened, that rebellious light in his eyes fizzling out.
I think that's when we all collectively agreed that going against this teacher and trying to escape was mental suicide.
“I will use Mr Hemlock as an example to all of you,” Mr Brighton said, turning to the rest of us. “If you break the rules or are derogatory in any way, you will be given detention.”
He grabbed the boy’s shoulders, forcing him to walk towards the supply closet. Roman moved like a robot, slightly off balance, his gaze glued to thin air, like he was tracking invisible butterflies.
"Your time in detention will depend on the severity of your rule-break.” He opened the door, gently pushing Roman inside, and following suit. When the door closed behind them, there was a pause, and I remembered how to breathe.
Kaz Samuels slowly got up from his desk, inching towards the closet.
“This guy is a certified nut.” He announced.
He turned towards us. “Whatever he's doing to Hemlock, we’re probably next.”
“He stopped time.” I spoke up, my own voice barely a croak. “He’s capable of anything.”
“But how did he stop time?” Kaz whistled, tipping his head back. The boy was slow, his fingers grasping each desk as he slid down the aisle. “He said he was lonely, right? But why take it out on us? What did we do to him?”
“Check his desk for a weapon!” Imogen whisper-shrieked.
Kaz nodded, striding over to the man's desk, his hands moving frantically, shoving paper on the floor. He took an uncertain seat on the man's chair. “There's nothing here,” he murmured, lifting stained coffee mugs and ancient textbooks. “It's just…test papers.” Kaz ducked from view, trying the drawers.
“He's a fan of Pokémon,” he said, “There's a tonne of Pokémon cards,” Kaz straightened up, running a hand through his hair. “No sign of a weapon, though.”
He picked up a ruler, waving it around. “This could work. If we plunge it in his eye.”
“Try his laptop!” Imogen was halfway out of her seat.
Kaz did, slamming the keys. “It's locked.”
“Look harder!” Ren Clarke threw a pencil at him.
“I am!”
After a minute of searching, Kaz grabbed a single piece of paper.
He held it up, and I squinted.
It was a list of our names, with several of them highlighted.
“Fuck.” Kaz dropped the list, his expression crumpling. The stubborn bravado facade transforming him into our sort of leader dissipated, hollowing him out into exactly what he was. Just a scared kid. Kaz’s hands were shaking.
“Mr Brighton’s got a hit list.” He whispered. “He's going to kill us.”
“How do you know that?” I found myself asking.
Kaz slowly dropped into a crouch, picking up the paper and holding it up.
“Look.” He pointed to a capitalised name at the top of the list highlighted in red.
ROMAN HEMLOCK.
There were six names highlighted in red, including mine.
CRISTA ADAMS.
As if on cue, Roman’s cry rang out from the supply closet, suddenly, freezing us all in place. Kaz jumped up, adapting the expression of a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide, almost unseeing.
He fell over himself to tidy up the desk, putting everything back where he had found it, sliding the list between a pile of test papers. Kaz took slow, stumbled steps back, his feverish gaze glued to the closet, before turning and making a break for it and diving into his seat.
“Brighton’s got a hit liiiist,” Kaz said, in a mocking sing-song, “And we’re all on it.”
What followed was deathly silence. I think we were expecting Roman to cry out again. But when he didn't, the class started to stir. Some kids started praying to a god they didn't believe in, while others were in varying states of denial, trying to call their parents with dead phones.
I wasn't sure what parts of me had stopped, but I was still alive, still felt like my lungs were deprived of oxygen, my chest aching. I'm not sure how long I sat there, trying to find my voice, a shriek trying and failing to rip through my mouth. Being kidnapped and held hostage is one thing, but being imprisoned inside a single, never ending second, was an existential hell worse than death. Slowly, I pressed my palm over my heart once again. Then I breathed into my cupped hands.
I was expecting it, but no longer being able to feel my own heartbeat and breath, was fear I didn't think was possible. The kind that glued me to my seat, hollowing me out completely until I was nothing, an empty shell with no heartbeat, no breath, no thoughts, except denial, followed by acceptance.
And finally, regret.
I regretted not hugging my mother goodbye before I left for school.
I regretted acting like a spoiled brat when my parents refused to drive me halfway across the country so I could attend Coachella.
I regretted stepping inside Mr Brighton’s fourth period physics class.
Mr Brighton reappeared, slamming the door behind him and locking the boy inside. Part of me flinched, while the rest of me remembered not to move a muscle. I was barely aware of time passing. Or it wasn't. Time had stopped, so now long had I been sitting there?
I could no longer measure the passage of time with hunger or thirst, and my body felt the same. I wasn't stiff or tired or achy. Looking out of the window, the sky was the exact same crystal blue, every cloud in the exact same place.
Jessie Carson was still frozen mid-run, strands of dark red hair caught around her.
“What's wrong with you guys?” Mr Brighton chuckled, and I twisted back to the front, a shiver writhing down my spine. “Why don't you give me a smile?”
The teacher returned to his desk, and I was already subconsciously sitting up straight in my seat, forcing my lips into a jaw-breaking grin, following Brighton’s instructions. In the corner of my eye, Imogen was sitting very still, forcing an award-winning cheesy smile, while Kaz grinned through gritted teeth.
“Mr Hemlock just earned himself two weeks inside the supply closet.” he said casually, perching himself on the edge of his desk. The man studied each of us, taking his time to rip every shred of us apart.
Mind, body, and soul.
I struggled to maintain my stupid smile, shoving my shaking hands in my lap.
“Would anyone like to join him, or are you going to follow the rules?”
The rest of us stayed silent. I don't think any of us breathed.
Our teacher nodded to Kaz, inclining his head.
“Samuels. Are you all right?”
Kaz’s smile faltered slightly. He shifted in his chair. I could see sweat trickling down his right temple. “Uh, yeah.” He swiped at his forehead, like he couldn't believe he was sweating. “Yeah, I'm good.”
The teacher’s eyes narrowed. He moved toward his desk, and we all held our breaths. Mr Brighton seemed to study his hit-list, lips curving into a frown.
His gaze flicked to the boy, and then the paper.
He knew, I thought dizzily.
Mr Brighton knew the kid had been rummaging through his desk. But this was all about control. The teacher was using fear to control us, to manipulate our thoughts without having to get physical. He could have called out the boy right then, but Brighton was settling with mental torture instead. He just wanted to make my classmate squirm.
Without a word, the man folded up the piece of paper and slipped it into his pocket. “Mr Samuels, you are sweating,” our physics teacher said, mocking a frown. “Are you feeling okay?”
Kaz hesitated, tapping his shoe in a rhythm.
Being one of the smartest kids in the room definitely gave him an advantage.
I could already see the cogs turning behind half lidded eyes. Kaz was weighing each scenario, sorting them into positives and negatives.
The positives of answering would mean he was one step towards being in the clear, but there were two negatives.
Brighton would question him if he had left his seat, and then demand how his hit-list had magically moved across the desk.
Talking back was surely a rule-break, as well as outright lying.
Opening his mouth would get him in trouble, either way, and Kaz knew that.
So, he just nodded, forcing an even bigger smile.
Brighton’s lips pricked, his gaze straying on Kaz. “Good!” He cleared his throat, turning to the class. Kaz slumped in his seat with a sharp breath, resting his head in his arms. If Mr Brighton noticed, he didn't say anything. “Ignore the sweating. It should stop, along with hunger and thirst.”
Our teacher seemed to be able to manipulate everything in his vicinity.
Time.
Minds.
And slowly… contorting us into his own.
In the single second we were trapped inside, I felt days go by in a dizzying whirlwind that was like being permanently high. When I stood up, I felt like I was floating.
When I sat down, hours could go by, even days, and I wouldn't even feel them. I did try and count the days, initially, scribbling them on a scrap piece of paper, but somewhere around the thirteenth or fourteenth day, I lost count. The world around us never changed, in permanent stasis, and maybe that was sending us a little crazy.
After a while of being stuck at our desks, Mr Brighton allowed us to wander the classroom, as long as we stayed away from the door. I lay on the floor for days, counting ceiling tiles.
Sometimes, Imogen would join me.
I couldn't sleep, but I could pretend to sleep, imagining a world that was back to normal. I didn't feel hungry, but my brain did like to remind me of food at the weirdest times. I was aware of weeks passing us by, and then months.
I never grew hungry or tired, and my bodily functions were none existent.
I couldn't remember what pain felt like, or the urge to go to the bathroom. Even the concept of eating and drinking became foreign to me. Putting something in your mouth and chewing to sustain yourself?
That sounded odd.
The only thing that was changing was our slowly unravelling metal state.
I don't know how it started. Weekends and Tuesdays blended together. On one particular SaturTuesday, I was hanging upside down from my desk, watching Kaz and Imogen doodle on the whiteboard.
Kaz had a plan to escape, but after a while, his ‘plan’ to distract the teacher, had gone nowhere. After passing notes between us, the twelve of us had decided that we needed a weapon.
That was maybe a month ago. I wasn't sure what mind games our teacher was playing, but Kaz Samuels, who we were counting on to be our brains, was slowly falling under his spell. Their game had been going on for three days. The two of them were having a competition to see who could draw the craziest thing.
Mr Brighton was at his desk as usual, marking papers.
Imogen was drawing a weird looking ‘skateboard’ when the doors to the storage closet flew open.
Roman Hemlock appeared, and to my surprise, wasn't a hollow eyed shell.
He held up his hand in a wave, his lips forming a small smile.
“Yo.”
Roman’s reappearance was enough to snap us out of it. Kaz and Imogen stopped arguing, the rest of the class going silent. I sat up, blinking rapidly.
I was sure our collective consensus was that Roman Hemlock was dead.
Mr Brighton lifted his head and gave the boy a civil nod. “Mr Hemlock will be rejoining us,” he said, his gaze going back to marking papers. “Please make him feel comfortable. I'm sure he's very excited to be able to talk to you again.”
Instead of going to his desk, the boy immediately joined the others, snatching the marker off of a baffled looking Kaz, and drawing an overly artistic sketch of a penis. I wasn't sure what confused me more. The fact that Roman Hemlock had some serious artistic skills, or that he seemed suspiciously fine for someone who had been locked in the storage closet for two weeks with no social interaction.
With my last few lingering brain cells still clinging on, I studied the boy.
There were no signs of bruises or scratches.
His eyes seemed normal, not diluted or half lidded.
Unable to stop myself, I jumped off of my desk and joined the others, where Kaz was already interrogating the guy.
“WHAT–”
Imogen nudged him, and he lowered his voice, leaning against the wall. “What did he do to you?”
Roman shrugged, rolling his eyes. “Relax, dude. He didn't do anything to me.”
“Then what was that yell?” Imogen hissed.
The boy cocked his head. “Yell?”
“You yelled out,” Kaz folded his arms, narrowing his eyes. He was already suspecting one of us had been compromised– or worse, brainwashed into compliance. Kaz stepped closer, backing Roman into the desk. “You cried out when you first went in there,” he murmured, “So, what was that?”
Something in Roman’s eyes darkened. “Oh,” He said, his lip curling. “That.”
Kaz’s expression softened. He rested his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Yeah,” He whispered. “What did he do to you?”
Imogen shoved Kaz out of the way, shooting the boy a glare.
“You don't have to tell us, you know.” She said in a small voice. “If it's too traumatising, or he did something you don't want to talk about–”
Roman cut her off with a laugh, and suddenly, all eyes were on him.
The remaining nine of us were eagerly awaiting an explanation.
“Are you fucking serious?”
When Kaz didn't respond, Roman gathered us in a kind of hustle, the four of us grouped together. I felt like I was on the football field. Still, though, if the guy’s goal was to look as suspicious as possible, he was doing a great job.
Roman studied each of us, one eyebrow cocked. When Mr Brighton glanced up from his work, Roman shot him a grin, lowering his voice to a hiss.
“You seriously think our fifty year old physics teacher has been abusing me in the storage closet?
“Then why did you cry out?” Kaz demanded. “Did he hit you?”
Roman stuck out his bottom lip. “I'm pretty sure he didn't hit me.”
“So, you cried out for no reason.”
“Why are you covering for him?” Imogen poked his forehead. “Are you lobotomised?”
Roman wafted her hand away. “Stop prodding me, and no, I'm 100% good.” He backed away from us, like we were observers, and he was the zoo attraction.
“I won't be, if you keep treating me like I'm senile.”
“Okay, fine,” Kaz sighed. “Just answer one.”
“Shoot.”
“When you first went in there, you made an unmistakable sound of distress–”
“Not this again,” Roman groaned. “Of course I yelled! I was shoved into a pitch black storage closet on my own! What, did you expect me to stay silent?”
Kaz didn't look convinced, Imogen nervously sucking her teeth.
The boy leaned back, resting his head against the wall. His eyes flickered shut.
“Stop looking at me like that, there's nothing to tell you,” he murmured, “Brighton didn't do shit to me. I was just freaked out.” Prying one eye open, he fixed us with a glare. “I am so sorry for reacting like a human. Next time, I'll make sure to attack him and pin him to the ground.”
It's not like we believed him. I don't think Roman believed himself.
Something significant had changed in him. He was no longer argumentative, like half of his personality had been torn away. Roman set a precedent. Because once he was following instructions and walking around with a dazed smile, others began to follow. I can't remember how much time had passed since I thought about escaping.
Days and weeks and months had collapsed into fleeting seconds I only noticed when I wasn't playing games.
I wasn't aware of my own lack of sanity until I found myself, on a random SaturWednesday. I was laughing, gathered with the others on the floor, around a Monopoly board. The game had been going on for almost a week.
Reality hit me when I was laughing so hard I tipped back.
I can't remember why I was laughing. I think Imogen told a bad joke.
“Hand it over.” Roman, who was the King of Monopoly, held out his hand, demanding my last 250 bucks. I remember noticing his smile, my foggy brain trying to find hints that he was in some kind of trance, or being controlled by Brighton. But no. His smile was real.
Genuine.
To my shock and confusion, so was mine.
I wasn't in a trance or any type of mind manipulation. I was completely conscious.
Was this… Stockholm syndrome? I thought dizzily.
Was I enjoying this?
My thoughts were like cotton candy, disconnected and wrong, and they barely felt like my own. My gaze found Imogen and Kaz, the two of them sitting shoulder to shoulder, enveloped in the game.
They looked exactly the same, their hair, clothes, everything about them staying stagnant. It was them themselves who had drastically changed. I had never seen them look so carefree. Imogen was a hotheaded cheerleader, and Kaz was the smart kid who gave himself nosebleeds from overworking himself. But now, they were laughing, nudging each other, caught up in an inside joke. Blinking slowly, my gaze strayed on them.
Sure, it could be manipulation. It could be brainwashing. But it could also be real.
Kaz caught my eye, raising a brow.
“You good, Christa?”
Shaking my head, I nodded.
Again, my smile felt real. Like I was having fun.
“Good. It's your turn.”
I picked up the dice, throwing them across the board.
Two sixes.
“I can already see her landing on one of my hotels.” Roman murmured. He sat up, resting his chin on his knees. “As the clear winner, I have a proposition.”
Ignoring him, I moved my piece– immediately landing on Park Place.
“I'll give you 500,” Roman announced, “If you give up New York avenue.”
“That's all I've got!”
Imogen nudged me. “Don't do it. If you give him New York Avenue, he only needs one more.”
“One thousand.” Roman waved the notes in my face.
“My final offer.”
When I reached for the cash, he held it back.
“New York Avenue, he said, with a grin.
“And your pride.”
Reluctantly, I handed my only property over.
Kaz threw the dice and moved his piece, and I half remembered we had an escape plan. “Community chest.” Kaz picked up a card. “Go straight to jail.”*
Roman spluttered. “That's karma,” he said, “For stealing from the bank.”
“You were stealing too!”
We had a plan.
We had…. a plan.
After discussing it in detail, Imogen and I were going to try and get onto Brighton’s laptop. It wasn't a perfect way to escape, but it was coherent.
So, what happened?
We were going to get out, so what… what was this?
Kaz’s earlier words hit me from months ago.
“Mr Brighton *is the thing keeping us here,”* he explained. “If we kill him, I'm like, 98% sure we’ll go back to normal.”
“Okay, and what if he dies and we’re *stuck?”* Imogen whisper-shrieked.
“I said 98% for a reason. Yes, there's a small chance his power will die with him. But there's a bigger chance that its effects will die when he does.”
Ren nodded slowly. “Right, and where exactly did you learn this information?”
“You'll feel a lot better if I don't answer that.”
“Okay.” Ren gritted his teeth. “So, we just need to find a weapon, right?”
“And don't tell Hemlock,” Kaz rolled his eyes. “I don't care what he says, that boy definitely had his mind fucked with. Hemlock is a liability. If we tell Roman, he tells Brighton, and we’re screwed.” Kaz nodded to me, then the others. “Keep your mouths shut.”
Presently, I wasn't sure the boy wanted to escape.
Slowly, I rolled my eyes over to Mr Brighton, who had joined us to play.
He was happily marking papers, taking part when he could.
It felt…right.
Not like we had been forced or manipulated, but more like he belonged. Part of me wanted to question why I felt like this, but I found that I didn't care. I didn't care that we were essentially dead, in a never ending stasis and stuck inside fifty two minutes past two. I stopped thinking about the outside world a long time ago.
I couldn't even remember my Mom’s face.
I made my decision, dazedly watching Imogen throw a chance card at Roman.
He flung one back, threatening to tip the board.
I wanted to stay.
In the corner of my eye, however, someone was still awake.
Ren, who had been sitting next to me, kept moving, further and further away. I didn't notice until he was inching towards our teacher, a box cutter clenched between his fist. There must have been a point when we found a box cutter, when we made it our weapon of choice.
But somewhere along the way, I think we just… lost the longing to want to escape.
I didn't see the exact moment the boy stabbed the blade into the man's neck, plunging it through his flesh, but I did feel a sudden jolt, like time itself was starting to falter and tremble.
Mr Brighton dropped to the ground, and I found my gaze flashing to the frozen clock.
Which was moving, suddenly.
Slowly creeping towards 2:53pm.
Something sticky ran underneath me, warm and wet.
Blood.
Blood that was running.
Roman’s half lidded eyes found mine, and he blinked, dropping the dice.
Like he'd been asleep for a long time.
2:53pm.
We were free.
The cool spring breeze grazing my cheeks was back. I could feel my own heartbeat, sticky sweat on my forehead.
And outside, Jessie Carson let out a gut-churning scream.
For a disorienting moment, I don't think any of us believed we were free.
Roman twisted around, his gaze on the doorway.
The piece of paper the teacher had stuck to the glass slipped away.
But Roman’s gaze was glued to the door, his cheeks paling.
His lips parted into a silent cry.
Following his eyes, I glimpsed a shadow.
A shadow that was frozen at 2:52pm.
2:53pm.
“Fuck.” Roman whispered, stumbling to his feet.
He turned to the rest of us, his eyes wild.
“Get DOWN!”
When the thing crashed through the door, our classroom exploding around us, chairs splintering against the walls, I was already dropping to my knees, crawling under a desk. It took me a moment to understand I was already kneeling in what was left of Imogen.
Her body had been hollowed out, singed straight through.
I was crawling through pieces of her flesh, mounds of her bisected brain.
Keeping my hand over my mouth, I watched this… thing.
A bulbous black monster, chewing its way through my classmates. Blood splattered the walls, raining from the ceiling, and that same striking pain ripped through my gut, agonising enough to force a cry through my lips.
My frantic gaze found the clock.
2:54pm.
Lurching forwards, I heaved up what was left of my lunch, agonising pain wrenching my stomach back and forth.
I jumped when another body joined me, thankfully alive, squeezing under the desk.
Roman, his face slick and dripping scarlet.
When the thing was gone, neither of us moved.
3:05pm.
“What are those things?” I managed to get out.
“I don't know,” Roman whimpered, covering his mouth. “But they're everywhere.”
3:10pm.
Another thing found our classroom. This time I saw it up close, a giant, bulbous black thing with an eye stalk. It knew we were there, peeking under the desk we were hiding. But it didn't kill us.
The thing left the room, stopping to gorge on half of Ren’s torso.
Roman shot me a questioning look, but I could only be relieved.
3:15pm.
Roman threw up black slime all over me.
He caught my eye, swiping his mouth. “Well, that can't be good.”
The pain in my gut was getting harder to deal with.
3:20pm.
“Did you have chicken nuggets for lunch?” Roman murmured. He got a little too close, his breath on my neck.
I had to suck in my stomach to stop the pain.
I was going hot and cold, sweat dripping down the back of my neck.
“Why?” I hissed back, taking deep, shaky breaths.
“I dunno,” Roman murmured, “I can smell them on your breath.”
His teeth grazed my flesh, sending shivers down my spine.
“Weird… huh.”
3:30pm.
Roman nudged me.
“Fuck.” He hissed. “Is that Kaz?”
Following his gaze, I found the remnants of Kaz under a crushed desk starting to… convulse.
“Was he bitten?” I whispered.
Roman’s eyes were a strange color. “Maybe.”
3:35pm
“Mr Brighton.” I was on my knees, sobbing, shaking my physics teacher.
“Mr Brighton! Take us back!”
I squeezed his ice cold hand for dear life.
“Say, ‘stop’,” I whispered “Please!”
3:40pm.
The thing that found me didn't attack me. It sat there, head cocked, watching me roll around on the floor, the pain writhing through me. I watched its transformation in short bursts, consciousness swimming in and out.
When I found light again, the thing was sitting cross legged next to me, chewing on a human arm. Maybe I was hallucinating. I watched it for a long time, trying to figure out why it was wearing strips of Roman’s white shirt.
3:52pm.
No longer in the school, I was in the back of an ambulance, a lady screaming in my face. I could see the time on her watch. She told me I was going to be okay, and I think I was. But I wasn't sure how to tell her she smelled good.
Like chicken.
It's been three months since my teacher froze time.
Mr Brighton wasn't imprisoning us. He was protecting us.
I'm still alive, but I have to take regular shots. I think they're just in case I was infected by those things.
I asked Mom if the incident has been on the news, but there's no coverage.
According to the people in white who treated me, everything has been covered up. According to the Mayor, ten kids died in a gas leak.
No mention of the monstrous things hunting us down…
Our town is just a blip on the map. You can't find us. I wish you could, though.
I need help.
I'm terrified of myself.
I’m not going to tell Mom she smells like chicken, because she'll freak out.
Last night, someone, or something knocked on my window.
When I turned on the light, a single, bulging eye was staring at me through the glass.
I still don't know why it was crying.

​
https://preview.redd.it/aaaqaywic01d1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07bb63de399d2806777b095ea2425fb8d073ac89
Edmonton, Alberta – TheNewswire - May 13, 2024 — Golden Rapture Mining Corporation [CSE:GLDR] (“Golden Rapture” or the “Company”), is pleased to report that its Spring surface sampling program has been completed and that drilling has also just commenced at the Combined Mine area, Phillips Township Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario.
A total of 61 well-mineralized samples were sent to the Lab last week with assay results pending. These appear to be our best-looking samples to date and our drilling has also just commenced targeting high-grade gold targets.
​
https://preview.redd.it/lcq06eikc01d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ce0224e34dbf31f062b929b0d2fef054807fda7
https://preview.redd.it/e3pzcgikc01d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=a8ca436a1513192077a4354f58bdc77dcdba2f30
https://preview.redd.it/o7ahggikc01d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=73c8b90960c5242790d8fa0640422e48896742c5
https://preview.redd.it/x2a8deikc01d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ee993c4bef2c1feeb15cc9b260ac6a0d70b57bd
https://preview.redd.it/uhgh0nikc01d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=0c7a969062da5bd85b1bb7af41360ab7781e70e4
Mr. Richard Rivet, CEO of Golden Rapture, commented:
“Golden Rapture is primed for an exciting season of exploration that will target both our high-priority Combined Mine and our Young’s Bay Gold Occurrence with surface sampling programs and drilling of the numerous high-grade drill targets at these two areas of the property.
We expect a stream of upcoming assay results throughout the remainder of the year. So stay tuned for an exciting summer ahead as we seek to uncover our Combined Mine followed by our Young’s Bay Occurrence. Both areas are to be surface sampled and drilled starting now.”
Our priority targets include:
Combined Mine: Of main importance are four (4) main veins (three steeply dipping & one large flat-lying up to 12 meters thick with 762 metres of strike length). It has seven (7) shafts with some drifting with many trenches, pits, and visible gold documented. Recent Golden Rapture sampling results as high as 125.00 g/t Au
Young’s Bay Occurrence: Has six (6) parallel quartz veins, four of which have visible gold with 262 meters in strike length. In 1949, approximately 7.3 tonnes of material was taken from shaft #1 to a depth up to 3.7 meters yielding an astonishing grade of 769.81 g/t Au. Recent Golden Rapture sampling results as high as 204.00 g/t Au.
The property is truly a treasure chest of forgotten golden opportunities hosting an impressive eighteen (18) mine shafts with visible gold having been recorded historically & recently. Of great significance is the fact that the majority of the gold-bearing systems also have parallel systems.
Qualified Person
The technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Archibald, P.Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
About Golden Rapture Mining
Golden Rapture Mining is a well-funded exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of high-potential assets located in favorable, established Tier 1 mining jurisdictions being the Rainy River and Geraldton areas of NW Ontario, Canada.
Our second property includes the past-producing Hutchison/Maylac Gold Mine located in the Geraldton Gold Camp, Greenstone, NW Ontario. It was one of the richest mines in the area and was mined underground on and off from 1937 to 1947. The highest historical drill intersection included results as high as 24.16 oz/t/gold. The property has only seen shallow drilling and was only mined to a depth of around 400ft and lies in the shadows of the new Greenstone/Equinox Gold Mine. We would entertain a JV with the right partner.
On behalf of the Board
Richard Rivet, Chief Executive Officer
Email: [goldenrapture@outlook.com](mailto:goldenrapture@outlook.com)
Phone: 780-885-9385
For more info please look at our website at https://goldenrapturemining.com/

Edmonton, Alberta – TheNewswire - May 13, 2024 — Golden Rapture Mining Corporation [CSE:GLDR] (“Golden Rapture” or the “Company”), is pleased to report that its Spring surface sampling program has been completed and that drilling has also just commenced at the Combined Mine area, Phillips Township Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. A total of 61 well-mineralized samples were sent to the Lab last week with assay results pending. These appear to be our best-looking samples to date and our drilling has also just commenced targeting high-grade gold targets. Mr. Richard Rivet, CEO of Golden Rapture, commented: “Golden Rapture is primed for an exciting season of exploration that will target both our high-priority Combined Mine and our Young’s Bay Gold Occurrence with surface sampling programs and drilling of the numerous high-grade drill targets at these two areas of the property. We expect a stream of upcoming assay results throughout the remainder of the year. So stay tuned for an exciting summer ahead as we seek to uncover our Combined Mine followed by our Young’s Bay Occurrence. Both areas are to be surface sampled and drilled starting now.” Our priority targets include: Combined Mine: Of main importance are four (4) main veins (three steeply dipping & one large flat-lying up to 12 meters thick with 762 metres of strike length). It has seven (7) shafts with some drifting with many trenches, pits, and visible gold documented. Recent Golden Rapture sampling results as high as 125.00 g/t Au Young’s Bay Occurrence: Has six (6) parallel quartz veins, four of which have visible gold with 262 meters in strike length. In 1949, approximately 7.3 tonnes of material was taken from shaft #1 to a depth up to 3.7 meters yielding an astonishing grade of 769.81 g/t Au. Recent Golden Rapture sampling results as high as 204.00 g/t Au. The property is truly a treasure chest of forgotten golden opportunities hosting an impressive eighteen (18) mine shafts with visible gold having been recorded historically & recently. Of great significance is the fact that the majority of the gold-bearing systems also have parallel systems. Qualified Person The technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by John Archibald, P.Geo., Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. About Golden Rapture Mining Golden Rapture Mining is a well-funded exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of high-potential assets located in favorable, established Tier 1 mining jurisdictions being the Rainy River and Geraldton areas of NW Ontario, Canada. Our second property includes the past-producing Hutchison/Maylac Gold Mine located in the Geraldton Gold Camp, Greenstone, NW Ontario. It was one of the richest mines in the area and was mined underground on and off from 1937 to 1947. The highest historical drill intersection included results as high as 24.16 oz/t/gold. The property has only seen shallow drilling and was only mined to a depth of around 400ft and lies in the shadows of the new Greenstone/Equinox Gold Mine. We would entertain a JV with the right partner. On behalf of the Board Richard Rivet, Chief Executive Officer Email: goldenrapture@outlook.com Phone: 780-885-9385 For more info please look at our website at https://goldenrapturemining.com/

Hey hammockcamping community,
I'm super excited to share my upcoming adventure with you all! This summer, I’m planning a two-week hammock camping trip across Spain in June and July, and I’ve recently ordered the Onewind Northers Hammock for the journey.
Why Spain?
Spain offers a fantastic mix of vibrant cities, beautiful landscapes, and rich culture. Plus, the weather during this time of year is generally warm and sunny, with temperatures ranging from 15°C at night to 30°C or more during the day. It's perfect for hammock camping and exploring both urban and natural settings.
​
Travel Plan
I plan to fly out and will be using the Osprey Daylite® Carry-On Travel Pack 44 as my underseat carry-on backpack. This way, I can avoid the hassle of checked luggage and keep my gear lightweight and portable.
​
Gear and Preparation
Here's a quick rundown of my gear and how I’m preparing for the trip:
​

1. Hammock Setup: • Onewind Northers Hammock: Just ordered and can’t wait to test it out! It’s a double-layer hammock to fit a sleeping pad inside and comes with an integrated bug net but no tarp. • Sleeping Pad: Considering bringing a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite for added comfort and insulation. • Sleeping Bag: Any recommendations ? • Inflatable Pillow • Tarp: Maybe bringing a separate tarp for extra protection. 2. Clothing and Essentials: • I’ll pack lightweight, breathable clothing suitable for the hot Spanish summer. • A nice outfit for city visits. • Essentials like a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen are a must. 3. Electronics: • My phone, a portable charger, and wireless earbuds for convenience. • GoPro Hero 6 with extra batteries to capture all the amazing moments. 

Support from My Sister
I’ll be visiting my sister who lives in Madrid. This is a great advantage as I can borrow some items from her or order additional gear from Amazon to her place if needed. It’s reassuring to know that I can resupply or get any last-minute essentials without carrying everything from the start.
​
Managing Food and Water
I plan to carry lightweight, non-perishable food and a portable water filter to refill on the go. I’ll also be staying in hostels for about five nights, giving me opportunities to refresh and resupply.
​
Itinerary
My itinerary includes a mix of urban exploration and camping in scenic spots. I aim to balance my time between experiencing Spain’s rich cultural cities and relaxing in nature.
​
Questions for the Community
Does this setup seem feasible for a two-week trip across Spain? Has anyone had experience hammock camping in hot weather? Any tips or suggestions on gear, especially for dealing with the heat?
​
I’m thrilled about this trip and would love to hear any insights or recommendations from those who have done similar adventures.
​
Happy hanging!