[The_Sandman]

Hello, I am Sandman (and no you may not refer to me as Sandy) and I am one of the many writers in Frederick, MD who won the SoMIRAC International Young Authors Contest. I got Second place for my Short Story "Darkened Sands" in the 11th grade division. At the award ceromony was Wayne Batson himself, in which I 'll be posting my pics of the celebration here too. I am also thinking about posting the whole story here along with *UPDATES* of it so I can continue it further to create a Novel!

[The_Sandman]

"Fear is a limitaion that is both a gift and a curse. Fear is what gives us motives and fear is what gives us pain. Fear is more than a mood, it is inevitability..."
"The Desert Journal", Anonymous

The vermillion stained sky softened as the evening star met the midnight star and created a blanket of darkened azure above. In the west, the red star vanished slowly over the polished dunes, reflecting off of the tip like fire through glass. In the east rose the white star; The Luna Nocturne, as I call it, shone with the finest white glow of light, so soft to ones sensitive eyes. The sky was conveyed with unimaginable warm and cool colors, and slowly, but surely, the blanket took over, ending what ever shade of red light the evening star had left to offer. What I did forget about was the coldness here in this strange world and hour. Frost slowly took over the dark orange sand, creating a thin layer of icy sheen right beneath my own feet; shock and awe could be seen across my face.

The wind blew away what was left of the orange material on the ground as this lunar fixation began its course. The dark orange sand, that now looked tangerine under the soft white light, caressed my cheek and as I stood, with such awe, my eyes became flooded with the sand that scraped against my eyes. I wiped it asunder, I watched fly, weave away like nothing I had ever seen in my entire life. A substance that flew in the wind like a living organism, I could only pull out my notebook and pen with a swiftness known only to me, as loneliness was the only passenger on my journey.

The crisp, milky white pages cooled my heated imagination as I sat down on a nearby boulder half-covered by fragile frost formed into ice. I wrote, and then once the pages were filled, I stopped and tried to contain my eagerness as my heart continued to race onward. My excitement was unlike any other, and now it swiftly turned into an excitement heightened by the unbearable sense of pure danger that was set afoot.

Oh hellish spite on my part! Not realizing that this planet was not only extravagant, but populated as well and, my quest for the thirst that is knowledge, is also satiated by the lust for action and fear the makes my heart race so. It is a good fear that I love to experience, much like a child taking it's first bath within a tub of warm luxury. Nothing could beat this feeling now, I knew what was behind me and now I knew what must be done. I would resort to all the savage knowledge that I had gained through survival on the planet Airmen, the planet of forests and vegetation, and put it to good use now.

As a man once said, "The pen is mightier than the sword..." well my pen is not smelted with pure, unbendable pig iron oh famous writer of the long forgotten past, so I will leave it to sit amongst my knapsack and notebook. I turned to face this action filled, thrill seeking soul which has brought forth such a noble duel; for what am I, but a beast thriving on adrenaline like this fellow fiend.

Therefore, in a stance, dangerous as the Airminian tiger whose claws are as sharpened as the finest cutlass, our fight commenced. It is a beast whose fur is as blighted as a corpse that sits under the swollen earth, decaying without any life. this beast was a sight. I shall write of its true deformity at a later time, within the cool confines and smooth pages of my "Desert Journal". It is not death that I look for within this animal, oh nay my dear readers---for it is adrenaline that I seek.

"Oh, fight ye foul naive! I ease my excitement with more adventure in thee, so I prey thee for lustful brawl between us anon!" and there I did brawl as did the beast who did roar in excitement. I draw breath, brandishing a silver tipped blade, and struck with inhuman speed at my attacker. As did he.

This did go on for some time, my soul and it's, intertwining in a battle fueled by the utter lust for adventure. Our battle did stop, for after only ten minuets of brawl, our eyes did grow weary as did the beast, and he did flee.

Is this just one day compared to a lifetime of excitement? I cannot tell, for it is day one and my overclocked journey has just begun.

To Be Continued in v.1.1...