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A short story I wrote for my English II class. It's the closest thing to a story that I've ever written. From scratch. XD

Enjoy.

Pitch black darkness overtook the city by seven o'clock in the evening. The shadows had vanished from the streets of luminous, looking skyscrapers as rushing cars replaced them, zooming down the multiple intersections interweaving throughout the city, at a desperate attempt to get home before traffic had engulfed the metropolitan area in about the next forty five minutes. Somewhere above the nightly mayhem sat an eighteen year old girl on an apartment complex porch, sipping chai tea whilst overlooking the city in which she had recently made her home. From the short two months she had been living there, the young woman could come to the conclusion already that New York City was quite the place to live if you could develop an ignorance of overwhelming traffic and awfully rude pedestrians. Even in the year 2014, the daily routine had not changed in the Big Apple, and in August the weather was dreadful and unpleasant, adding onto the horrid everyday routine. She wasn't looking forward to the winter's arrival.

Sighing, the young woman reached for a book to her left on the tiny table, exchanging her tea for a journal that was titled "Ally's List of Poetry" that included poetry excerpts from a variety of famous poets and not-so-famous poets. She would read from it time to time and whenever she had the urge to add another poetic quote from something pleasantly odd that she was reading. This book was a source of inspiration when she would be feeling dejected, dull, dismal, or all of the above. This book had a significant important in her life, that no one knew about except Ally herself. She scanned through her special book and, with her eyes closed, randomly jammed a thumb onto a page, surprising herself with what she had selected. It was a famous quote from Mark Twain in messy, child-like print that read "He who fights with monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster . . . and if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." After reading the excerpt once more out loud, her breath caught in her throat. A fat black cat had plunged onto her lap uninvited. However, it wasn't her pet that had spooked her; this quote ignited a powerful memory in her mind from her childhood, making her wonder just when she had written this down. She didn't ponder on the thought too much though, as she felt herself plunging back to a time over 10 years ago to a similar hot summer's day in July, to not as simple times, because nothing is ever simple when you're a kid.

A girl with curly brown hair stood overlooking the lush green town she dwelled in, but never got to know for the seven years and eleven months she had been living there. Holding a turkey sandwich in her hands, she let her tiny arms dangle lifelessly over the balcony railing along with her pampered curls, as she gazed across the plains dotted with wildflowers whose pleasant smell she had never had the chance to enjoy, and probably never would until she was allowed to move out. The young lady let out a frustrated sigh and bit into her sandwich, knowing all too well that her parents may not even grant her the permission to abandon their authority when she reached age 18. Being only 7, she didn't dwell on the matter for too long, and her mind wandered to something else entirely. She was wishing that James would come to play with her, the thought bringing a smile to her face. Though they were not allowed to play in close contact with one another, because he was a homeless boy and she was a very privileged young woman, he would sit beneath her balcony and talk to her. He would show up at her home around seven o'clock at night and would converse with her for hours on end if she wished it. For a peculiar reason, the girl found herself anticipating a wonderful day. She looked upwards to the sky and admired the sun's warm rays that only existed in July, not to mention probably the best month to play outside. It wasn't long before she heard her name being called in a low, sing-song voice.

"Ally!" the voice chanted.

The girl known as Ally looked down into the bushes from where the voice called. There was no mistaking who it was, and she was grinning from ear to ear when her familiar city-born friend emerged from the hawthorn bushes below. His curly black hair and brown overalls were disheveled as usual, but his ice-blue eyes were cheery all the same. Ally leaned farther over the railing and asked, "Why are you here so early, James?"

James cocked his head to one side. "What, am I s'posed to run on schedule? I can show up whenever I wanna!" he declared in his usual cocky way, making Ally giggle.

Then he got all nonchalant and crossed his arms. "Actually, I am here early for a reason, tenderfoot. I was wondr'in if maybe you'd wanna go with me somewheres."

Ally's big hazel eyes got all wide. "But James, you know I am not allowed to leave the premises of my house! Mother and Father would highly disapprove. I would be restricted to my room for the rest of my life . . . probably."

James let out an exasperated sigh at this claim. "Who cares? I highly disapprove of those weirdos locking you up in your house and not letting ya go outside like a normal kid! C'mon, we both know you wanna live the adventurer's dream! Right Ally?"

He must have been really convincing, for Ally soon found herself changing out of her blue satin-fabricated dress and into a stretchy purple one, yellow leggings, and white tennis shoes and after putting her sandwich in a knapsack, climbing down the side of her house by using the long vines. James was proud of his pampered friend for venturing outside without permission for once, took his bewildered friend by the hand and dragged her into downtown Folsom. Ally was shocked as she took her first steps into her hometown, and then urgently began to soak it all in, taking mental snapshots with her brain to preserve the sweet memories. Besides for all the pleasantly strange new sights, there were a lot of odd people living in Folsom that Ally took note of. Kids dressed in blue pants and revealing tank tops were everywhere, along with people selling the oddest things. James cleared up the air for Ally with side notes, like "That's the style!" and "They're selling junk to pay off debts". Ally wasn't so sure about Folsom being a wonderful place after all, and James wouldn't tell her exactly where they were going. "It's a surprise!" he would say. This made Ally more and more curious every time she would ask. Everytime she wanted to stop and admire the sights, James kept ushering her along. Ally was bewildered, because it was only 12 o'clock. After making their way through the city, they stopped in Folsom Junior's Park on the east side of town and sat on top of the jungle gym. No one was in the park at the time and Ally guessed all the children were eating their midday meal at home. She wondered if James had eaten lunch, but it was unlikely. Ally reached for her knapsack and pulled out her sandwich, which she split in half to share with James. They both dug into their sandwiches immediately, and Ally listened as James told her exactly where they were going.

He pointed to the east and Ally followed his finger, gazing in awe as he pointed to the desert beyond the town where it got unpleasantly hot and humid, where humans rarely dwelled but desert lizards and foxes lived plentifully. "We're goin through there to reach the Abyss," he declared with a mouth full of turkey.

Ally had pulled her eyes away from the distant arid landscape to look interestingly at her friend. "What is the Abyss?"

James shrugged. "Dunno. No one knows. No kid has ever been there, or ever tried. The Abyss is said to be the home to a hungry beast that lives in the shadows, who eats kid or somethin' like that." This made Ally's heart drop to her stomach.

"A hungry beast that eats children?" she whispered. James just nodded in reply.

"My bud Georgie said it eats kids for breakfast."

She got on her knees and yanked his shirt sleeve. "But James, we're children," she exclaimed in a louder, high-pitched voice.

James got to her height and put his hands on her shoulders, his ice-blue eyes delving into her own hazel ones. "Don't worry kid, you got me to protect ya. I won't let anything happen to ya. Got it?" He raised his eyebrows until she nodded in assent. Secretly, she knew that James, though he was extremely brave, was only a 9-year-old kid. He had no weapons and no protective armor. He wasn't much of a soldier, let alone a policeman. On top of it all, they were going up against a monster that no one's ever seen before, let alone met in battle.

James continued with his explanation of the Abyss. "The Abyss is a crevice deep within the desert that's s'posed to have a super cool treasure. If it's gold, I wanna be the first one to claim it."

Ally shrugged. "Let's be on our way now. The sun's going to start its descent soon." And with that, the two kids climbed down the jungle gym and away from the park after stopping at the water fountain for a long drink. The two traveled down the side of the road leading out of Folsom. At the desert's boundary line, James stopped next to a trash can on the side of the road. Ally came to a halt as well and eyed her friend. "What are you doing James?"

James didn't reply right away. He dove head first into the trash bin and soon emerged with a half-empty soda liter. The label read "Coca Cola". He began to twist on the rugged lid.

Ally let out a shriek of disgust as her hypochondria took over her. "Ugh! You're not really going to drink out of that half-empty soft drink, are you? Someone has already drunk from it!"

James continued to twist the lid as he answered his friend. "Yeah, I am. And I'd say it's half-full."

He was able to open the soda liter and Ally watched with queasy eyes as he eagerly sipped from it. He finished with a satisfied breath and held out the soda liter to his friend. "Want some?"

Ally gulped and hesitated on the question. If she accepted, she could get sick from someone else's germs. If she declined, her friend may think of her like the rest of the rich folk, who were rude, stuffy, and unwilling to try anything new outside of their own indulging routines. She eventually accepted the offer, took the bottle and drank a small sip. Though it didn't quench her thirst, she came to a realization. This is how James lived every single day. He scrounged the dirty streets for a decent meal and went to bed hungry. He was forsaken by the town for this lifestyle, but it's not like he could help it. His parents abandoned him when he was four, and the orphanage he was dumped at was a hell house. James had no choice but to run away, and after running for several miles, wound up in the Folsom woods where he made his home. He built himself a tree house and has lived there for over five years. He wouldn't have his life any other way, but that was just how James was. He was too proud to admit that he longed for a decent life of baths and three square meals a day. Ally had bonded with her friend at that moment.

The two trudged onwards after abandoning the now ¾ empty bottle, into the desert outskirts for what seemed like miles. Both children had begun panting and heaved themselves onward before they discovered a stretched iron fence, surrounding what looked like a large gaping hole that just fathomed danger like vapor. There was no mistaking that was the infamous Abyss. James tightened the grip around Ally's hand as the two made their way through the entrance hole in the fence and as they crept to the edge of the Abyss. They craned their necks forward to look down into the large chasm, expecting to see large serpents slithering around in its shadowy depths or to hear growls emitting from it almost at once, but all was quiet except for the arid winds. The sun was setting in the sky by now, it must have been around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and the waning sunlight resulted in shadows casted into the Abyss, making it impossible to see the bottom. Yet, the two stood there in a petrified state, not able to move or make a sound as they continued to gaze down into the fissure with wide eyes. In a matter of minutes, James released the grip around Ally's hand and began to lower himself into the Abyss. Ally, still fixed in place, was perplexed at his actions and hissed, "What are you doing?"

"Going down into the Abyss."

"Are you crazy?"

"No, but I ain't scared neither."

Ally's blood ran cold as she heard a loud, monotonous roar. It startled James, who toppled into the Abyss with a surprised scream. Ally didn't expect to hear a sickening thud as he reached the bottom, because she believed the Abyss never ended. You would simply fall and fall until you died of old age or from going crazy. She felt sheer relief when she heard that familiar sing-song voice.

"Ally! Ally? It's okay; it was only a seven foot drop! Think I sprained my ankle though." Ally immediately dropped to her knees to peer over into the Abyss. James was right. Her vision became clearer and she could definitely see the bottom of the Abyss, with James not too far below her sprawled on the dirt floor, holding his ankle. "I'm gonna need some help here!"

Ally began to lower herself into the Abyss, but stopped in her tracks as something appeared out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to get a better look in the middle of the Abyss, where a large island reigned, as something emerged from a big cavern opening in the island. It was big, looming, and reeked of danger. It was red and had the horns of the devil along with the teeth and wings of a dragon. It let out another roar and Ally found herself petrified once more to the edge of the Abyss, terror gripping her soul.

She watched as James slowly and painfully got to his feet, but stumbled and fell again to his knees, gritting his teeth out of frustration. He looked up worthlessly as the monster made its way towards him. A single thought fluttered in the kids' minds, "It eats kids for breakfast!"

The monster now loomed over James, and Ally couldn't help but cry out desperately, "James!"

James prepared for his doom, closing his eyes so as to not see his brutal death, but then felt the monster's shadow leave him. He opened his eyes to see that it was gone. Ally reached his side in a moment and while helping her friend up, wondered what it was that had scared the monster, because it vanished as quickly as it appeared. It couldn't have possibly been her voice?

The children were trembling, but James wiped away his tears and made his way to the island in the middle of the Abyss. Ally stood up to follow him and the two, hand in hand, walked up to the island jutting out in the center. James heaved himself up onto the mass, and as he reached down for his friend, they both heard a voice not belonging to either of them. Silence followed, only to be broken by the same exact voice just moments ago.

"Ally!" The two kids exchanged a sustained glance. They knew who the voice belonged to. It was none other than Ally's strict father.

Their predictions were true as they reluctantly looked back towards the edge of the Abyss, seeing a man standing there in a classy tuxedo and top hat. Ally couldn't make out the expression on his face, but she knew it wasn't one of bliss.

"Get here this instant young lady!," he roared.

Ally sighed. "I've got to go now." She looked up at her friend, who looked down at her with his unreadable ice-blue eyes. Ally blinked sadly. "Tell me what the treasure is later on, okay?"

James just smiled down at her. "You bet I will."

And with that, Ally closed her poetry journal. That marked the end of their long and weary expedition into the unknown; they had gone to a place no one had ever been before and no one would dare to go, except themselves. They had made history for kids everywhere, as James spread the word about their courageous deeds, about the Abyss, about the monster, and about the treasure that James had found. He did find something valuable that the monster was guarding with its own life; a sparkling necklace made out of rare diamonds. James had returned to Folsom and showed it to Ally, who was excited at the result of treasure and told James to sell it so he could buy himself decent meals and possibly a nice place to live for once in his life. He could have sold it and could have been richer than Ally and her parents could ever hope to be, but he refused the idea almost immediately. It was a treasure that he had worked hard to find, and he couldn't just sell it away like an old toy. He kept it for a while, hidden under the floorboards of his tree house, until one day when something miraculous happened.

A long lost relative of James in his thirties adopted the orphaned boy and took him away to live in Florida, but before he departed, James stopped by at a certain mansion with intentions. It was her 8th birthday, and Ally was allowed outside on this one day of the year. A tiny black kitten, her birthday present, followed her out the door. She stepped onto the porch where she found a package with her name on it sitting on the steps. She ripped open the paper and lifting the lid to the box, was shocked to find a shimmering diamond necklace nestled in tissue paper. A note lay on top of it, and Ally read to herself, "Happy birthday, tenderfoot. Hope you will take care of our treasure for us from now on. I'm on my way to Florida to live with a relative. Take care, see you again someday. –James."

Ally stood up on the porch and turned to the sliding door, moved it open and walked inside her condo. She made her way to her bedroom and after she put on her nightgown, she walked over to her bed and bent over. She shuffled things beneath the bed before pulling out a familiar box. Inside it was tissue paper, a twinkling necklace, and a note with wear to it. She put the necklace on herself and held her hands to it, looking down on it with bleary eyes. Her cat rubbed up against her, meowing as tears rolled down her face and leaked onto the necklace, making it twinkle even more marvelously. It had been years since she had cried, and she hated crying, but the view of the necklace was so extraordinary, she was thankful for her unhappiness.