Run, I continue to tell myself, he can't get me if I keep running. It doesn't matter where I go, I've just gotta run. I come out of the woods and into a field. I spot a ditch. I jump in and lay down. I can hear his footsteps behind me, getting louder and louder. I close my eyes and pray he doesn't find me. I feel a hand on my shoulder...

"Tag!" Brandon shouts, "You're it!"

"Oh, come on!" I respond, "why are you so fast?" Brandon just laughs and turns around to get a running start.

"Hey, get back here!" I shout, struggling to climb out of the ditch. Once I'm out I chase him back into the woods.

"Alden, time for lunch!" I hear my mom shout.

"Coming Mom!" I shout, "Bye, Brandon"

"Bye!" he shouts back. I get to the yard. The flowers on the sides of the granite path are growing pretty well. The lawn is a beautiful array of orange, yellow, blue, red, and violet. I hop along the path, making sure to only land on the darker splotches. I see my mom in the window, smiling. The house is a minty blue with a red shingle roof. The windowsills are painted white. In the window at the top right(my window), I see my Great Dane, Bruno. On top of his head is Mom's chihuahua, Lucy. I get to the door. Mom opens it for me. I take off my sandals and put them on the white shoe rack to the left. The tile feels cold on my bare feet. I quickly step onto the carpet. To my left is the living room with the TV on a stand way back by the wall. Closer to the door is the couch with Dad on it. In front of him is the coffee table. To my right is the kitchen. There is a sink right next to the oven, which is next to the fridge. On the other side of the fridge, there are wooden cupboards with stone countertops. Directly in front of me are the stairs. Bruno and Lucy are excitedly coming down them to see me. Bruno is a lot taller than me, so we taught him not to jump up on people he knows. Bruno sleeps with me every night, right up in my bed. Lucy is a lot shorter than me. She was the runt of her litter, so she's even shorter than other chihuahuas.

"Hi, Bruno!" I say, "Hi Lucy" After I'm done hugging them, I go over to the kitchen for lunch.

"I made your favorite," says Mom, "grilled cheese!"

"Yay! Thanks, Mom!" I eat my sandwich, then, for some reason, Mom and Dad come over to the table with their hands behind their backs. Then, they simultaneously shout

"Surprise!"

"Happy eighth birthday, Alden!" Dad says. He pulls out a present from behind his back. I grab it. It's small, about the size of a book. I rip through the wrapping paper, excited to see what it is. I can see some blue, now some green, now black with little white speckles. I rip more. Now I see white, now red, some letters! I get through the rest. It's a cardboard box with Earth on it and a rocket flying into space.

"Super foam rocket kit," I say, reading from the box, "You got me a rocket? Awesome! Thanks Mom and Dad!"

"Yep," says Mom, "And a cake!" She pulls a cake from behind her back and sets it on the table. The frosting makes a picture. It's an astronaut floating through space. In blue writing, it says "Happy Birthday, Little Spaceman!"

"It's your favorite; chocolate!" Says Dad.

"Yay! Thank you!" Mom sticks eight blue and red striped candles into the cake, lights them, then gets a frosting knife to cut the cake. Dad grabs some red paper plates with pictures of aliens on them and some plastic forks. They sing happy birthday to me. I think for a second, decide on a wish, and then I take in a big breath, then blow. The flames on the candles dance for a second, then go out, tiny puffs of smoke coming from the top. Mom and Dad clap.

"Good job!" Mom says, "now we cut the cake!" She cuts my slice first, then sets it on my plate. Then she cuts two more; one for her and one for Dad. I grab my fork and gobble up my slice.

"And, we have ice cream for after supper, too," Dad says.

"Yay!" I hug Mom and Dad, then head upstairs. Bruno follows me. Lucy jumps up on his butt. When I get to my room, I sit on the bed, and Bruno jumps up beside me and starts licking my face. I laugh, then hug him.

"Bruno, stop! That tickles!" He just keeps licking me. Lucy jumps down and goes back downstairs. I fall over. Bruno finally decides to stop, and lays down beside me. I grab my favorite toys (an astronaut with a removable helmet and a little blaster, and a spaceship with a door that he fits into) and get onto the floor. I put the astronaut in the ship, then hold it steady.

"Launch in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, ppffffkkk! Pshooooooooo!" I move the rocket around in the air, "New planet spotted!" I move closer to the bed, "Pshooooo! Landing!" I set the rocket down on the bed and open it, "Mission control, I have landed!" I turn around and grab a little rubber alien. "Uh-oh, aliens!" I move his arm up and put the blaster in his hand. "Pew, pew, pew! Zap!" I continue to play for a few hours, then Mom yells to me.

"Alden, dinner!" She says. I come down to see Mac-and-cheese with hot dogs; another favorite of mine. I sit down at the table. After dinner, we have ice cream, and I go to bed.

"Goodnight!" I say as Mom tucks me in.

A few hours after I wake up and have breakfast, I go to Brandon's house next door with my new foam rocket. Brandon comes out and I tell him about the rocket. We sit in the field and put it together. I press my hand on the pump and we watch the rocket fly up. I suddenly se something; a black hat peaking out of a bush. It moves a little, and I can see eyes covered by shadows and surrounded by fabric. More movement. I see a neck and shoulders, covered with a thick black coat. The figure rises, and I see a chest. The coat isn't zipped. Underneath is a flannel shirt. Huge arms with wide shoulders. A stomach. Now a hip. Gloved hands at the sides, something glittering in the sunlight. I squint. A spade; it looks like it has been sharpened on a rock. A leg sticks out, parting the bushes. His jeans are ripped. He walks out. Then runs, heading straight for me.

"Brandon!" I shout. He looks.

"Aaah!" He turns around and runs. I follow. I'm a few feet behind him; I've never been as fast as him, but I've never run this fast before, either. I can feel my heart beating faster and faster. My heartbeat seems to propel me faster, faster, faster than my legs can handle. My upper body leaps, leaving my legs behind. I try to get up. My knee hurts. I fall back down. I look back, and The man is only a few inches away. He lifts the spade. It glints in the sun. I try to inch back, to turn around and get up, but to no avail. I see him swing down before it happens. But it doesn't. He steps back, startled and confused. The foam rocket is in his eye. It falls. As he recovers, I kick his knee as hard as I can. He stumbles, then trips. He starts to fall, and I crawl while simultaneously trying to get up. I stand. I feel something; something sharp.

"Aaah!" I cry out in pain. The shovel has cut my back. I keep running, struggling to stay up. I hear him get up and start to run again. I run into the forest. He may be fast, but I know where every root, tree, bush, and branch is. Without having to look down or even think about what I'm doing, I run through the woods like a deer. I hear him stumble, and his footsteps slow. I keep my footing and run faster. I feel myself start to fall, but pick myself back up. I Cana see my house now. The man is running a little faster now. He gets closer; I speed up. I get out of the forest. The path is in front of me. I see my Bruno barking in the window. The man's footsteps get louder. I feel the wind of his arms pumping. He starts to swing his shovel. I duck down into a little ball. He trips over me, dropping the spade. I run ahead of him to grab the shovel. I feel his hand on my ankle. I kick his fingers with my other foot, and he lets go.

"Aaah!" He screams. I grab the spade. The man crawls and gets partly up. I open the door and run through. He tries to get in before I get in. He gets halfway through the doorway and reaches out to grab me. He almost catches me when, "Aaah! My arm!" I turn around; Bruno has the man's arm in his mouth. He tries to hit Bruno, but I pull him back and he moves. I try to close the door, but the man won't move. Dad runs downstairs.

"What's all this-" he pauses for a moment, sees the situation, and immediately runs to the door. He kicks the man in the arm, then the head. He pushes the door closed while still kicking. The door closes, then locks. There is banging, then a shuffling of feet. Then silence. Dad sees my back. We go into the bathroom to the first aid kit. The next day, I go to the doctor. As for now? I'm fine. Brandon and I are still best friends, and I am married. My husbands name is Paul. Brandon has a wife now, too. Her name is Charlotte. I never though I would say this, but that day, my life was saved by a foam rocket.