Blog Mission Contamination 2019 Winners
By Young Writers | Winners
Colonia High School, NJ
Published in "Mission Contamination - New Jersey Tales" has won the
Young Writers Award of Excellence for submitting the best selection of entries
from the contest!
1st Place Student
Winner
Samantha Pressman, The French International School, MD
Published in "Mission Contamination - Maryland Tales" has won an iPad
and trophy!
Where's The Cocktail
Sauce?
Cheap, abundant, crispy calamari was the first sign.
Creating ideal conditions, climate change has allowed cephalopods to multiply
and evolve at an alarming rate. Squid devour all life forms, dominating the
world's oceans. Unable to satisfy their voracious appetites, they squeeze
through our pipes, infiltrating infrastructure. Factories have shut down. Food
and water are scarce. We can't take showers or open faucets without octopuses
sliding out. Families are found dead, covered with suction marks.
A tentacle slithers up my leg, its slimy suction cups twitching for flesh. A
raspy voice asks, "Where's the cocktail sauce?"
Humanity is being eaten alive.
Student Runners-Up
Each student has won a $50 Amazon Gift
Card
Gabrielle Wick, Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School, PA
Published in "Mission Contamination - Perilous Pursuits"
I Was Just Cold...
I shivered. My mother stared in horror. I tried to tell her
I was just cold, but she silently shook her head. Shivering was the first sign
of the sickness. Anguished tears rolled down her cheeks as she took my hand,
dragging me to the basement door. I trembled as she fumbled with the lock. She
opened the door. There were no stairs, not since my brothers got sick. She
kissed my forehead with all the love she had before she shoved me into the
cluttered darkness. A hungry snarl echoed off the concrete. Mother promised
she'd let them go.
Brooke Davis, Dartmouth Middle School, MA
Published in "Mission Contamination - Massachusetts Tales "
The Gloves
I drive down the dark winding road... the glorious factory
on the horizon. My keys rattle in the door. The smell of fresh latex fills my
nose, the aroma leading me to a barrel of liquid rubber. I carefully pour my
'secret ingredient' into the glove mixture.
Upon leaving, the creaking of machinery echoes as it starts. Soon the gloves
will spread the disease throughout New York hospitals. Every medical
professional will be infected by them! The most brilliant doctor will be me!
Who else? No others will survive! Erased from existence, thanks to me.
"Gloves, please!" demands the doctor...
Arham Shah, Eisenhower Middle School , NJ
Published in "Mission Contamination - Tales From New Jersey "
The First Snow
We emerged from the bunker, the sun's glow bringing back
memories from my childhood. The snow felt soft underneath my boots. One of the
members of my crew bent down and put her hand on it, a smile spreading across
her face. It was understandable as she was seeing snow for the first time in
twelve years. Since the bombs were dropped, the world fell into a radioactive
wasteland. Luckily, I knew a crazy fellow, a doomsday prepper. Back then, we
regarded him as an idiot, someone who the children were to veer from. Now, we
call him our savior.
Please note the
authors retain the copyright of their own work.