WA 6 final draft

Acrid smoke drifted up from the cracked asphalt, stinking of tar and brimstone. Detective Lucas Zorran and Officer Jean-Paul Rosseau stood with their guns at the ready, and behind them assembled a battalion of policemen, looking less than confident. About twenty feet in front of them was a gaping hole in the major roadway, a column of smoke twirling lazily from its center. Huge cracks emanated from the impact point like strands of a spider web. The fallout from the impact was everywhere: broken windows, pieces of tires, the flaming shells of cars, chunks of brick walls.

"Can you see anything, Zorran?" whispered Rosseau shakily. He was a tall, lanky young twenty-something with a shock of floppy brown hair and an over-eager way about him. His brown leather greatcoat flapped about his knees.

"Nothing but smoke. Keep your eyes open, Officer. We could be in very deep trouble in a few seconds," advised his senior officer. Zorran was a bald black man with a fierce gaze and a personality stereotypically suited for army life (though he'd left the army at the age of 22). He wore a white coat and had his Sig Sauer pointed at the crater. Slowly the smoke was beginning to lift. There was a huge, bulky shape poking through the smoke.

Zorran and Rosseau took a few steps towards the object, skirting the enormous cracks and debris. As the object came into focus, Jean-Paul let out a small gasp. It was a chunk of pure white metal, smooth but for the slight dent on the bottom from striking the ground. It seemed like it hadn't suffered any damage at all from its trip through Earth's atmosphere. It was round on one side, but the other side had wires and bits of machinery poking from it, as though it had been torn from another structure. It looked, for all the world, like a piece of a flying saucer.

"Wh-what the hell is it?" gasped Rosseau, his gun hand shaking wildly. Zorran put a hand on the younger man's arm before he could put a bullet in the mysterious object.

"I don't know, Officer. Might be part of a space shuttle, or maybe a piece of the ISS. One thing's for sure. I've never seen this kind of metal in my life, and I've worked on and off with NASA for seventeen years. I know all of the latest technology they're developing and whatever this stuff is, either they've been keeping it all hush-hush, it's a prototype, or..." Zorran paused and rubbed his broad forehead; he felt a headache coming on.

"Or... what, sir?" asked Rosseau softly, excitedly. "Maybe it's part of a UFO!"

"Son, it is a UFO. We don't know what the hell this thing is or where it came from, it was flying - or falling, at least - and it is clearly some kind of object."

"But maybe, sir, maybe? It could be part of an alien spacecraft, couldn't it? I mean, satellites have more or less proven that there's at least signs of life on other planets, so -"

"Officer, will you shut up for a minute and just let me think?"

"Oh. Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Be quiet. Now, I think... yes, I think I'll do that. I'll call my friend at NASA and ask her to come up here. Yeah. All right. Rosseau, you have a phone on you?"

"Oh yes - let me see..." Rosseau clumsily put the safety back on the gun and fumbled in his pocket for his pink cellphone, which he tossed to Zorran. He stared down at the carnation-colored device in his hand.

"Rosseau, was that really the only color available when you bought this thing?"

Rosseau went as pink as the cellphone. "It looked different in the magazine picture, sir." Zorran rolled his eyes and flipped it open with one hand, dialing the number of his NASA contact while keeping his gun trained on the white bulk in case it decided to do anything surprising. Tracy Morris, who was the head of Research & Development at Goddard Institute of Space Studies, picked up on the fourth ring.

"Whoever it is, make it snappy, 'kay? I've got a lot of work on my plate and a deadline," she snapped in a clipped, professional voice.

"Geez, Tracy, sorry I got you at a bad time," smiled Zorran.

"Lucas, is that you? Hey! How are you, baby?" she laughed, instantly melting into the warmer, more sociable voice that she used outside the office.

"I've been doing alright, but -"

"When are you going to come see me again?" she interrupted.

"Um, I was actually going to ask you to come down and see me - us. We've found something out in Barre, and I think you're going to want to check this out."

"Something like what? A piece of a shuttle? A meteor? A... UFO?" she snickered.

He knew she meant the last one as a joke, but he said, "The last one actually."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. Tracy knew Zorran almost never joked and was rarely sarcastic. "I'll come right down," she promised, and hung up. That was it. He had piqued her scientist's curiosity, and she would stop at nothing until she found out what it was.

WA 6 draft 1

Acrid smoke drifted up from the cracked asphalt, stinking of tar and brimstone. Detective Lucas Zorran and Officer Jean-Paul Rousseau stood with their guns at the ready, and behind them stood a battalion of policemen, looking less than confident. About twenty feet in front of them was a gaping hole in the major roadway, a column of smoke twirling lazily from its center. Huge cracks emanated from the impact point like strands of a spider web. The fallout from the impact was everywhere: broken windows, pieces of tires, the flaming shells of cars, chunks of brick walls. 

"Can you see anything, Zorran?" whispered Rousseau shakily. He was a tall, lanky young twenty-something with a shock of floppy brown hair and an over-eager way about him. His brown leather greatcoat flapped around his knees.

"Nothing but smoke. Keep your eyes open, Private. We could be in very deep trouble in a few seconds," advised his senior officer. Zorran was a bald black man with a fierce gaze and a personality stereotypically suited for army life (though he'd left the army at the age of 22). He wore a white coat and had his Sig Sauer pointed at the crater. Slowly the smoke was beginning to lift. There was a huge, bulky shape poking through the smoke. 

Zorran and Rousseau took a few steps towards the object, skirting the enormous cracks and debris. As the object came into focus, Jean-Paul let out a small gasp. It was a chunk of pure white metal, smooth but for the slight dent on the bottom from striking the ground. It seemed like it hadn't suffered any damage at all from its trip through Earth's atmosphere. It was round on one side, but the other side had wires and bits of machinery poking from it, as though it had been torn from another structure. It looked, for all the world, like a piece of a flying saucer.

"Wh-what the hell is it?" gasped Rousseau, his gun hand shaking wildly. Zorran put a hand on the younger man's arm before he could put a bullet in the mysterious object. 

"I don't know, Officer. Might be part of a space shuttle, or maybe a piece of the ISS. One thing's for sure. I've never seen this kind of metal in my life, and I've worked on and off with NASA for seventeen years. I know all of the latest technology they're developing and whatever this stuff is, either they've been keeping it all hush-hush, it's a prototype, or..." Zorran paused and rubbed his broad forehead; he felt a headache coming on. 

"Or... what, sir?" asked Rousseau softly, excitedly. "Maybe it's part of a UFO!"

"Son, it is a UFO. We don't know what the hell this thing is or where it came from, it was flying - or falling, at least - and it is clearly some kind of object."

"But maybe, sir, maybe? It could be part of an alien spacecraft, couldn't it? I mean, satellites have more or less proved that there's at least signs of life on other planets, so -"

"Officer, will you shut up for a minute and just let me think?"

"Oh. Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Be quiet. Now, I suggest we let NASA know about this as soon as possible and not let anyone touch it or get near it until they get here.Rousseau, you have a phone on you?"

"Oh yes - let me see..." Rousseau clumsily put the safety back on his gun and fumbled in his pocket for his pink cellphone, which he tossed to Zorran. He stared down at the carnation-colored device in his hand. 

"Rousseau, was that really the only color available when you bought this thing?"

Rousseau went as pink as the cellphone. "It looked different in the magazine picture, sir." Zorran rolled his eyes and flipped it open with one hand, dialing the number to his most trusted contact in NASA while keeping his gun trained on the white bulk in case it decided to do anything surprising. Tracy Morris, who was the head of Research & Development at Goddard Institute of Space Studies, picked up on the fourth ring.

"Whoever it is, make it quick, okay? I've got a deadline and a lot of work to do," she snapped in a clipped, professional voice.

"Geez, Tracy, sorry I got you at a bad time," smiled Zorran.

"Lucas, is that you? Hey! How are you, baby?" she laughed, instantly melting into the warmer, more sociable voice that she used outside the office.

"I've been doing alright, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm not too bad, actually. When are you going to come see me again?" she chirped.

"Well, I was actually going to ask you to come down and see us. We've found something out in Barre, and I think you're going to want to check this out."

"Something like what? A piece of a shuttle? A meteor? A UFO?" 

She probably meant the last one as a joke, but Zorran, said, "The last one, actually."

"I'll come down as soon as I can," she assured him, and hung up. That was something Zorran could always count on: Tracy's unquenchable scientist's curiosity. He smiled, the first time he had that day.

WA 5 draft 3

I was standing in my normal clothes, looking at the faded, cardboard box in my hands. Inside was Aunt Tiffany's wedding dress, and I was about to put it on, something I'd dreamed of doing since I was a little girl. Suddenly I felt nervous that I would rip it or trip when I was walking in it. "Lucy? You ready to try that thing?" called Morgan from where she was getting changed.

I stood behind the big wooden pews, looking around the church. It must have been time for the wedding to start by now - we'd been in here for most of the day, getting things set up. Lizzy and I had been stealing cookies from the caterers' plates when they weren't looking, but then Noah caught us and made us stop. Of course, Lizzy blamed the idea on me. She's always doing that. It's like she forgets that I'm older and smarter than her.

Besides, it was her idea.

Morgan helped me get the dress on and was now zipping up the back. It was tighter than I had expected, but it really was beautiful. It went down to my feet and the sleeves actually made my arms look good. Morgan had a handful of flowers that she was pinning to the veil before I put it on.

I've never seen Ethan look so nervous. He was standing in front of the mirror, combing through his hair with his fingers. We were in one of those little rooms that you have Sunday school in when you're a little kid. They creep me out, especially at night. Noah caught my eye and came down to brush my jacket off. I wonder if he was still mad about the cookie thing.

"You look beautiful, Lucy," Morgan gushed as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"I'm so glad Aunt Tiffany let me have this dress. It's so... elegant." I did look pretty good in it. I twirled around in front of the glass. 

"Aunt Lucy?" I glanced down at Lizzy, our flower girl, who was pouting. She had on a shiny pink dress and was holding a basket of rose petals. "Percy's here and he won't go away!"

First Noah, now Lizzy. Why is everyone acting so bossy today? Noah just made my job as a ring bearer way harder, and now Lizzy's tattling on me (again!) just because I wanted to see Aunt Lucy. I mean, I didn't even do anything wrong! Did I?

"You know you're not supposed to see me before I walk down the aisle, young man," I reproached Percy, who had shown up unexpectedly just as the guests started arriving. I thought I had told Noah to keep an eye on him.

Percy sighed and gave me a pout that could've given Lucy a run for her money. "Everyone's telling me what to do today. Why can't I just -?"

"Because Aunt Lucy said so," interrupted Lizzy in her best bossy voice. She loved watching him squirm. "Now go away."

Percy gave her a pretty nasty sneer. "Tattletale," he whispered.

I was so annoyed with Lizzy. She really is nothing but a big tattletale, plus she's always siding with whoever's yelling at me. I went stomping out of the room, hoping to make Aunt Lucy feel sorry for me. People were starting to arrive, I noticed.

All of a sudden, I heard running feet behind me and turned around just in time to see Lizzy come flying out of the room and tackle me furiously. We shrieked as we fell to the ground, punching and pulling hair.

I really, really, hated Lizzy at that moment.