Walt Whitman Junior High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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Engulfed by a deep wilderness, I was aware only of the darkness of the night. Not even the bright moon and the twinkling stars could soothe my troubled feelings. Showered in self-pity, I was suddenly startled by a thumping noise. Peering cautiously to the right and then to the left, I spot- ted no one. Not daring to turn around, I broke into a run and head ed south. None-the-less it seemed as though the Uthumpn was right be- hind me like a shadow in the sun. The harsh winds seemed to say run---run! But with every step the thumping increased. Lacking cour- age, I knew I was never to turn around, thus never to know my fol- lower. nltn had run me directly into a cabin filled with gay, bright- hearted people who gave me no sympathy. I insisted the Nthumpn was real, they made it clear I was hearing things. Convinced of their madness, I pushed on. As the cold bit and nipped at me, I knew I must get away ---- away from the thump, thump -------- the thump, thump ----- and now I knew---the thump of my beating heart. Evelyn Brooks , eqshgrr THE MONSTER It happened on a cold wintry night. The smoke-filled restaurant seemed cozy with its Chinese tap- estries and idols. All of a sudden a shrill scream pierced the air. It seemed to be coming from my booth. Before I knew it, there was a maze of faces surrounding me, all trying to see what had happened. At that moment, another shriek arose and broke into wild song. By then I knew! It was the Monster! Somehow or other he had escaped from the house and followed me. I had to get him out of the restau- rant unseen before he did any more damage or before he hurt anyone. The last time he ruined a restau- rant and bit some small children before I could capture him. As an- other shrill blasted, the manager came forward defiantly. I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances: I dragged my kid brother out from under the table and took him home where he belonged Iris Merker 37

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CLAUSTROPHOBIA It must have been the sudden jolt that woke him up. Slowly things began to jell. The inky blackness was frightening. But where was he? He felt a soft pad- ding about his chest and legs. He tried to get up but he couldn't. It was so unearthly quiet he could hear his heart beating. Just then a thumping sound brought him out of his reverie. He fought with his memory for a clue to his where- abouts. Finally he remembered. Everyone had thought it was claustrophobia that had drawn him to flying, and it probably was. Ever since he had gone up in his friend's plane, flying through space became his chief goal. Since money was no object, he bought only the best of planes and equip- ment. He paid no attention when 36 JOURNEY WITH A MAD MAN I opened the door and there he 1 stood pointing a gun at me. He pushed his way into the houseand started mumbling all sorts of crazy things. At that moment, there was a bulletin over the radio, UMad man escaped from insane asylumn. He fired two shots at the radio and grabbed me by the hand. We got into an old car and he began driving at a high rate of speed. As we rounded the sharp curves, all kinds of thoughts raced through my mind. At 4 that moment, I looked down and to my surprise what should be lying on the floor of the car but a revolver The second he turned his head, I reached for the gun. I pointed it straight at him and told him this ' was the end. I tightened my grip on the gun, closed my eyes, and clenched my teeth. Just as I was about to pull the trigger, he gave a loud moan. I looked up to see his body slump back. He had died from heart failure. My pointed gun was too much for him! , Gail I the doctornsaiduflying will affect your heart. It was on his last flight that it happened. His heart conked out, and after the tail H spin and crash, they had given him i up for dead. The stark terror of being nbur- y ied aliven suddenly hit him. The darkness and the thumping over- whelmed him. The scraping of the shovel, the resounding of the earth filling in a grave, the darkness--- He screamed like a madman. He was closed in. The thick walls of the coffin were immovable. He was per- spiring, and he fought for self- control. with all his strength he pushed against the coffin, but the shoveled earth had weighted it down. Before long he gasped for breath. Finally he blacked out. Jeffrey Harris w sikoff

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WITHIN THB RBALM OF POSSIBILITY c1ence ic ion ory , ,ff The fifth ice age is descending on earth. Unlike the past ice ages, this one does not stop in the tem- Pefate zones. Miami, Rome, and Peiping in the northern hemisphere are under one mile of ice while Shi HEY and Rio de Janeiro are in the same situation. Ice sheets, one from the North Pole, one from the the South Pole, are engulfing the earth ln a freezing strangle-hold. Civilization, too, has gone back in time because of a stalemate between two of its most powerful nations. The human brain, too, has slowed down. A thousand years pass and now only a twenty mile temperate belt is left around the earth. The cli- mate is that of Norway or nothern 38 ,VW Canada. It is summer, but the ice is moving steadily. People terror- ized by the cold flee the rivers of descending ice. Frantically they seek shelter from the chilly air. One by one the ice seals the caves where families seek refuge. Isola- ted groups push towards the equator. The last of the survivors make camp on a ledge overlooking the only river that hasn't iced up. The head of the family and his son make a quick exploratory trip to see where the river leads. Soon they find a pit that will serve as man's last stand. Here they set up house. Years go by. The survivors, three hundred in number, subsist on herbs and roots. The descending ice is within an arrow's range of the hida ed into the 1 4,f,Af' X' 4