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Authors: Warren Rochelle
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how to be invisible in the house when either of her grandparents was busy. She could be invisible for days, she thought, as she leafed through the computer manual and the manual for the new software game her grandfather had brought
home with the computer, Worldmaker. Alexander drowsed in an open window and a breeze came in from the warm, late April afternoon. She couldnât wait to play the game.
âYouâre supposed to take them through their history, up to modern times, without losing them to disease, invasion, a natural disaster, whatever,â her grandfather said as he pushed in the last plug and flicked on the monitor and the hard drive. âSupposed to be for eighth or ninth grade, but I think you can handle it. Should be a lot of fun, Haze. Letâs see what happens when we boot the game up. Okay, hereâs the first menu. You have to set up the valley the tribe will live in firstâsee, here are your choices for the valley.â
Hazel slid into the chair facing the monitor. A long wide valley with a slow, meandering old river? Or a short, narrow valley with a quick, young river cutting a gorge down the middle? Or ... Hazel looked up. Her grandfather was gone. Alexander had curled up on the edge of the bed, just close enough for her to reach over and pat his head from time to time. The valley needed a name. A blank square blinked on the screen.
âAlexzel, the Valley of Alexzel,â Hazel said, liking the sound made when she blurred her and Alexâs names. She typed in the letters and pressed enter. When she did there was a sudden sharp pop and a blue light flashed, as if a camera had gone off right behind Hazelâs head. For a brief moment the room seemed bathed in the blue light, a light that was so bright and intense that Hazel covered her face and squeezed her eyes shut. Alexander yowled and jumped off the bed to hide beneath it.
Hazel opened her eyes. The blue light was gone. Everything in the room looked to be just the same. The name Alexzel glowed in the middle of the screen. An electrical charge? Lightning? Hazel had never heard of blue lightning and outside the sky was clear and fair.
âAlexâwhat do you think we should do?â Hazel asked softly. To her surprise, Alexander came out from under the bed, dust clinging to his whiskers. He shook himself and jumped up into Hazelâs chair. He sat up and peered into the screen and then gently tapped the keyboard with his right paw. For another brief moment, his eyes glowed an intense blue.
Thomas John Ruggles
Thomas backed out of his fatherâs driveway at exactly 10:45 P.M. They had told him to be punctual and arrive not a minute before or a minute late. He had timed the trip to Clemmons State Forest twice
before. He should be at the forest entrance at 11:35. He would sit in the car until 11:42 and then walk down the path to the fire. He glanced over at the Tysonâs. Front light on, the living room. Awful late for Ben to be expecting company, he thought as he drove off.
Thomas shook his head. How could he have been so blind all these years? The Ruggles had moved next door to the Tysons when Thomas was fourteen and he had never suspected, never even guessed just who and what Malachi was. Or who and what Valeria was. Or where she had gone. No, he hadnât really spent much time with his father from thirteen to sixteenâjust a few weeks during the summer, every other Christmas and Thanksgiving. While his parents had their custody fights, Thomas had been forced to live with his mother. He shook, trying to get rid of those memories. But he had babysat for Malachi more than once when he had moved back after his motherâs suicide, and he had never guessed. Sat right beside Valeria onceâshe had even touched him. But I was just a kid then, he thought. His father knew, and, Ben, of course. But they hadnât seen fit to tell him. No matter. His eyes had been opened; he knew.
He had felt the first
home with the computer, Worldmaker. Alexander drowsed in an open window and a breeze came in from the warm, late April afternoon. She couldnât wait to play the game.
âYouâre supposed to take them through their history, up to modern times, without losing them to disease, invasion, a natural disaster, whatever,â her grandfather said as he pushed in the last plug and flicked on the monitor and the hard drive. âSupposed to be for eighth or ninth grade, but I think you can handle it. Should be a lot of fun, Haze. Letâs see what happens when we boot the game up. Okay, hereâs the first menu. You have to set up the valley the tribe will live in firstâsee, here are your choices for the valley.â
Hazel slid into the chair facing the monitor. A long wide valley with a slow, meandering old river? Or a short, narrow valley with a quick, young river cutting a gorge down the middle? Or ... Hazel looked up. Her grandfather was gone. Alexander had curled up on the edge of the bed, just close enough for her to reach over and pat his head from time to time. The valley needed a name. A blank square blinked on the screen.
âAlexzel, the Valley of Alexzel,â Hazel said, liking the sound made when she blurred her and Alexâs names. She typed in the letters and pressed enter. When she did there was a sudden sharp pop and a blue light flashed, as if a camera had gone off right behind Hazelâs head. For a brief moment the room seemed bathed in the blue light, a light that was so bright and intense that Hazel covered her face and squeezed her eyes shut. Alexander yowled and jumped off the bed to hide beneath it.
Hazel opened her eyes. The blue light was gone. Everything in the room looked to be just the same. The name Alexzel glowed in the middle of the screen. An electrical charge? Lightning? Hazel had never heard of blue lightning and outside the sky was clear and fair.
âAlexâwhat do you think we should do?â Hazel asked softly. To her surprise, Alexander came out from under the bed, dust clinging to his whiskers. He shook himself and jumped up into Hazelâs chair. He sat up and peered into the screen and then gently tapped the keyboard with his right paw. For another brief moment, his eyes glowed an intense blue.
Thomas John Ruggles
Thomas backed out of his fatherâs driveway at exactly 10:45 P.M. They had told him to be punctual and arrive not a minute before or a minute late. He had timed the trip to Clemmons State Forest twice
before. He should be at the forest entrance at 11:35. He would sit in the car until 11:42 and then walk down the path to the fire. He glanced over at the Tysonâs. Front light on, the living room. Awful late for Ben to be expecting company, he thought as he drove off.
Thomas shook his head. How could he have been so blind all these years? The Ruggles had moved next door to the Tysons when Thomas was fourteen and he had never suspected, never even guessed just who and what Malachi was. Or who and what Valeria was. Or where she had gone. No, he hadnât really spent much time with his father from thirteen to sixteenâjust a few weeks during the summer, every other Christmas and Thanksgiving. While his parents had their custody fights, Thomas had been forced to live with his mother. He shook, trying to get rid of those memories. But he had babysat for Malachi more than once when he had moved back after his motherâs suicide, and he had never guessed. Sat right beside Valeria onceâshe had even touched him. But I was just a kid then, he thought. His father knew, and, Ben, of course. But they hadnât seen fit to tell him. No matter. His eyes had been opened; he knew.
He had felt the first
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