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Grace Donalson
10 November 2014
Period 4/5
Skeleton in the Corner
There have been multiple sightings of Noahs 450 by
45 feet Ark in the mountains of Mount Ararat. Nobody has ever been to visit its exact location for the
Turkish only allow visitors a specific amount of time too short for the travels, but some have been
able to take distant pictures.
Rain drowned the earth in complete sorrow. Clouds, normally seen as sweet cotton balls,
turned to dark, mass murders. Lightning flashed as sort of code, signaling the end. We had all
made mistakes, even though we knew the consequences, and now we were paying for it. It was a
chance of luck that I survived. I cheated death, and apparently I wasnt the only one.
My sister, R and I had just finished dinner. The night was still young and we were
planning for a late swim in the ocean. I was headed towards my room when the door slammed
before me and the shutters began to rattle. A blanket of darkness filled the room as if a switched
had been pulled on the sun. Quickly, I headed towards the window. The distinct clear blue sky
that towered over us just hours ago had been replaced by roaring black clouds, that at first glance
could easily be mistaken for an early night sky. I hopped out the window for a better look. Clouds
and debris were chasing each other across the sky while waves grew with every push and pull.
Before no time each wave had easily tripled in height and were reaching my feet. Their cool touch
wiped the shock from my body and allowed the fear to sink in. I turned and screamed to my
sister. We had to escape, for in just a few minutes our beach house would be under water. But my
attempt to save us seemed to come a few minutes too late, as right before I opened the door to
grab her I found myself laying upon a trembling ground, and a massive wave headed right
towards me.


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I broke through the surface to find water pouring down above me. I exhaustively tried
gasping for any air available to relieve my burning lungs, but soon found that impossible as
towering waves began to clobber me. The little energy that remained within me quickly
deteriorated as I tried to hold myself above water. At any moment I knew my weak limbs would
give in and leave me for dead. I needed something to hold onto, but the rain obstructed my view
of the outside world, leaving me blinded to anything sustainable. Eventually, my hands skimmed
a solid object, and I blindly took hold of it. I was incapable of opening my eyes and seeing what
the world would reveal. My body shook as I screamed out in pain; for the loss of my sister, for the
confusion of this sudden change of events, for the emptiness inside. Once my screams descended
to whispers and the rain had eased, I was able to gather myself, and slowly opened my eyes to see
what theyd reveal.
There wasnt much to see. Water covered every inch of my perception, most of it thick of
swept away trees, homes, and carcaspses. I was glad to discover the item I had grabbed hold of
was simply a section of wall of a house, big enough for me to lay on. I tirelessly pulled myself
aboard and looked for another sign of life, but the exhaustion took over and required I changed
task to sleep.
I could have been asleep for hours, days even when I began to hear a banging sound
coming behind me. A roar had me on my feet within seconds. Slowly I turned to find myself
pressed against what seemed to be a boat. It was by far the largest I had ever seen. The water hit
against the side and rebounded into my face. I was sure that when I opened my eyes again the
Ark would have disappeared. Yet there it stood, with a window section at the very top, so high it
sliced the dark sky.
The world was eternally dark leaving time a mystery. However, I did find a clearing in the
clouds and discovered a star above me. I wished upon it that this nightmare would end when I


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woke. That Id be with my sister in just a few hours. But when I did wake I found myself fully
disappointed.
Living was beginning to be a challenge. My skin peeled just to reburn in a couple hours.
The rainwater was becoming harder and harder to consume; I no longer contained the energy to
catch, and the ocean water was polluted with debris. The carcases began disappearing, and fish
were impossible to find. It seemed that the only other living things in this world were those upon
the boat I named the Ark; which made themselves very known. Their hollowing would last hours
on end, the screech of the monkeys, roar of the carnivores, they got into my head echoing even in
the silent hours of the night. A smell projected off the Ark and reeked in the air, making each
breath disgusting, but required.
Nights were the longest. The temperature dropped far below comfort. Never once did I
make it through the night dry. Rain came and went as if on schedule. Just hours after dark it
would being, and come and go until a little after sunrise. The mixture of these conditions left a
nasty effect on my body. Each morning Id wake feeling sicker than the previous. It couldnt be
long before Id fall into an eternal slumber.
The sun was setting on the darkest sky since the flood began. I prepared myself the worst,
knowing that this night would most likely be the end. Before, if I had known that Id be
approaching my death in just a few short hours, I would have surely spent them in fear. My whole
body shaking. But tonight I laid across the death with pride. Pride that I had accomplished so
much, and survived so long in this horrific disaster.
I woke with sand on my arms. Quickly I opened eyes and saw land around me. Naively, I
believed my wish had come true, it was all a dream. I stood to tell R, but just as I began to run I
found myself stopping. One more step and Id plummet to the earth. Mountains surrounded me,


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and water could still be seen in the distance. I took shelter in a cave, but without the Ark in sight
or hearing distance, I knew that I wouldnt last long.
I watched as they found my hiding spot. Two young men who came in search of answers.
Little did they know that the cave they stumbled upon once held a man who knew less than them.
That the tallies on the wall only symbolized my final 21 days on land, nothing major. However,
they now stand for much more, the source of a law. A law set by the King states that if you desire
a quest for the Ark, you have 21 days to do so, before you end up like the skeleton in the corner of
the cave.