Next..continued on next post, not enough room on this post either.
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Short story Alex
April Avenue was in the shadow of dusk as Shanon watched Survivor on TV.
]I should sign up for one of those game showsU^ he thought about his dorm and his school, Josiah University, where he had been studying for two years.
]It would be nice to get away from this for awhile.:^ he thought wistfully. Shanon was the type of person who will make up their mind and will never waver from that chosen path. This had brought him good things and bad things in the past. People knew him to be an honest person but it also caused him to do several things that a normal person wouldn\t do. His decisions to do things usually came on impulse, which is not usually the best way to make decisions. So the next day, he got his things together and E-mailed all his teachers asking them to forward his work and assignments to him (which they never did, having about 500 students to deal with). He watched TV to look for a game show to join. The one that caught his eye was called ]wilderness adventure, live off the land and do everything with no help from anyone. Find your own food, water and compete with the other contestants for water and food sources. Whoever ]survives^ longest wins our cash prize and set of professional bow-hunting equipment^.
]Sounds neat^ he thought to himself.
Upon arriving at the sign-up location he noticed a small group of people already there.
]Hi^ said the attendant at the desk, ] Are you here to sign up for the wilderness adventure game show?^
]Yeah, where do I sign up?^ Shanon answered.
The attendant pulled a wad of paper about 3 inches thick up from under the desk and said,
]These are insurance claims, they say that we hold no responsibility for any injuries you may receive after we set you loose on an island that\s uninhabited, has some dangerous predators on it, and has frequent volcanic eruptions in random places.^
He pulled another wad of paper up, this one was much thicker.
]to be eligible to win the prize, you have to pay this much money.^ The employee said.
]Why so much paper for something so simple? It only has to say a price and have a dotted line for me to sign.^ Shanon inquired.
]UmmmmU We usually hope that you don\t ask that and just sign where we tell you to but do you see that ten dollars way in the corner of the page?^
]Yes^
]Ok, all the pages after it except the last one are filled with 0\s, it looks like it costs ten dollars, but really, you sign this and agree to pay us over $0.1x109999999999999999999999999 .^
]Uwhat does that mean?^
]just sign here.^ said an excited and rather inarticulate employee. ],and here, quick^
So Shanon, flustered by the employee\s sudden briskness, signed the paper.
He pulled a third wad of paper out from under the desk.
]Now you need to sign these, it says that you have agreed to pay the $100 fee in order to play this game show and it also says some other stuff.^
So Shanon signed those too, this time reading carefully and with a dictionary close at hand.
]this verifies that you will not accept help from other players of this game. Good, sign it in ink please, and this one here, and here, and over there, you almost missed it. Good.^
So after much tedious paperwork, Shanon was finally on his way to the Island.
]So what does it mean by [find your own food\ does it mean we can\t go out to eat?^
The person next to him on the airplane said with a skeptical look on his face,
]Uhh, I don\t think he gets it^ Joe said to the other person next to him. ]Look, while in this game show, you go to a deserted island and live off of the land, nothing is pre-made, you can\t go to Krogers to get food.^
]So you have to go to Wal-mart? That\s ok I usually go there anyway. Also, is there a McDonalds or a Wendy\s close to where they\re staying, because I really like their fries?^ Shanon said, completely oblivious to the fact that a bird had just been sucked into the jet engine propelling the airplane
]There are no Wendy\s or any fast food where we\re going, don\t you get it?^ Joe said, exasperated.
]Whoa, no fast food? This place has got to be pretty small then. And when it said [do everything by hand and make everything from scratch\ does that mean we\re even going to have to change our own lightbulbs and do our own laundry? Isn\t there some Laundromat I could go to?^
Joe sat back and sighed. There was no evading this guy\s persistent questioning and seemingly no way to make him understand.
]Look, there is going to be NO CIVILIZATION where we\re going.^
]Darn, I love that game, do you have civilization 2 and 3 ? Trust me, they are way worth getting!^
]This is your pilot speaking, please fasten your seatbelts as we are about to land.^
Shanon put his seatbelt on and surveyed the land outside of the window.
]Frequent volcanic eruptions, dangerous predatorsUcan\t see any buildingsUWe must be in Georgia.^
When they landed, Shanon shielded his eyes from the suns rays as he stepped into the Wilderness.
]You will all go to different quadrants of the island and the game will begin. Although, you may injure people in this game, try not to kill them please, your insurance claims can only do so muchUU.^ Shanon sank into a stupor and stopped listening as he droned on with instructions. He thought vaguely that he would rather be in his college listening to his professor telling him about sociology and psychological things.
]UU..and you will report back here when the..