Book Creator | The Outlet

~Colophon~

Editorial Philosophy:

~Colophon~

Submission Policy:

The Outlet seeks to create an outlet for people to plug into their creativity. Throughout 2020 and 2021, many people have suffered great losses, but with the world opening up again, people have had a chance for renewal. In this publication of the magazine, we hope that you will see such a thought projected into the magazine. Our theme for this year was: Renewal.

We accept submissions through the Warwick High School Activities Canvas course under the Literary Magazine Module. We give careful consideration to all submissions and accept high-quality work that best gives people an outlet for their creativity.

Staff:

Thank You:

Eve Boone
Alisha Byrd
Deshara Butler
Lois Carpenter
Katlynn Dang

Jayda Donaldson
Alex Herrera
Kennedi Little
Joy Perez
Kierstin Stuckey
Elise Walters

All our authors and artists who submitted, all Warwick High School teachers who helped us promote, Mr. Huberdeau, Ms. Marcolini, our new readers, and the Warwick High School administration.

~Table of Contents~

Cover Art
- Peaceful Reflections BR-S15-E4 by Cheyenne Sawyer

Ghost Story Contest

- Winner: The Hollow Dog by Zoid
- Honorable Mention: Can Blood Stain Linoleum? by Cheyenne Sawyer
- Honorable Mention: Midnight Mind by Kimberly Mayer
- Honorable Mention: Walter Post by James Velkey
- Honorable Mention: Phantom Requiem by Quay

Love Poem Contest

- Winner: He Stayed by Charleigh-Anne Farrell
- Honorable Mention: They Say the Eyes by Fox
- Honorable Mention: You Are Timeless by N.Robinson
- Honorable Mention: The Love That Won´t Go by Rocky Robinson
- Honorable Mention: What is Love? by DeeJay

Individual Works

- First Met by Taniya Batten
- Me and Her by Eve Boone
- Mourning Dove by Eve Boone
- Mon Amour/My Love by Eve Boone
- To Feed by Eve Boone
- Pastiche by Lois Carpenter
- To Mother by Carl Czerny
-Poe Drawings by Caleigh Emond
- Why the Willow Tree Leans Over the River by Maxyn H.
- The Light to Dark of Life by Malaysia Ishmael
- LOVE SONNET by Keith
- Light as a Feather by Keith
- Untitled by Kayli Klein
- Marbles by Gabriel Magallanes
- A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANIELS by Martin
- SONNET by Sara Strick
- Destiny by Quay
- Attention by Zak

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest

WINNER: The Hollow Dog - Zoid

In 2016 on a frigid Halloween night. My dog, Buddy, is hopping and running through the grass chasing the nocturnal cats. It’s getting colder but my jacket is keeping me warm enough, although Buddy doesn’t seem cold at all. He never seems bothered with the cold given how he’s almost naked.
As I was heading back home with my bag full of candy, Buddy saw a cat near a wired fence. He started to chase the cat and they went through a hole in the fence heading towards the woods. “Buddy wait, come back!” I yelled chasing after him. It was hard trying to catch up with them. Then from a distance I heard a yelp coming from Buddy, I ran faster to get to him. When I had finally caught up to him, I was out of breath and hunched over trying to steady my breathing.
When I finally looked up I saw Buddy stuck in a bear trap. His back legs were caught in between the claws and he was laying there in pain. I tried pulling at the claws to set him free but the trap was locked tight. So then I tried pushing down on the spring to release the pressure.

Eventually I was able to open some of it and I was able to slip buddy legs out the trap. Buddy winced in pain as I laid his legs on the ground. “We need to go to a hospital now!” I said panicking.
I couldn’t carry Buddy because he was too heavy, but I don't want to leave him. “Wait here buddy I'll come back for you, I promise!” I said running back to the neighborhood to get some help. As I was running through the forest short of breath I saw my neighbor next door in the distance. “HELP!!” I shouted, waving my arms frantically in the air. The neighbor turned around and saw my face wet from the tears. In shock she ran up to me and asked if I was okay and what’s going on. I told her what happened and my dog buddy went into the woods and got caught in a bear trap.
The lady asked, “you have a dog now?” looking a little confused. “You don’t remember Buddy?” I asked. The lady was sitting there lost then decided to brush it off. She finally agreed to help me and called for help on

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest

WINNER: The Hollow Dog - Zoid

her phone and my mother. After 5 minutes of trying to calm me down, help arrived. My mother and a police officer came up to us. “Where is your dog? Can you show us to him?” he asked. I pointed to the forest where buddy is up ahead.
My mother then came up to me and said ¨Sweetheart we don't have any dogs. I'm allergic to them, remember?¨ I looked away from her feeling guilty. ¨I know that's why I hid it from you...sorry¨ My mother then looked at and smiled, I knew she forgave me and asked me to show her where the dog is.
I finally showed them the way through the forest and we arrived at where Buddy is at. The police told me to stay with my mother and approached Buddy and started to examine him. ¨OH MY GOD!¨ The police officer yelled in terror, throwing his body back onto the ground, dropping his flashlight. Confused, my mother asked him what's wrong, grabbing the flashlight and shining it on Buddy. ¨What the-¨ she said approaching Buddy to get a closer look and to her surprise all she saw was a dog missing its insides.
My mother quickly came up to me and hugged me saying ¨ I'm sorry darling the dog is in a better place¨, she said before she started sneezing uncontrollably. In

denial, I went up to Buddy and tried to wake him but he wasn't moving at all. I then tried taking his pulse but I couldn't find one. I fell to the ground bawling my eyes out trying to wake up Buddy. My mother tried pulling me away but I resisted, after a few minutes of struggling I was forcefully ripped away from Buddy. His body only became smaller and smaller in the distance.
A few hours later the mother and daughter arrived at the house completely silent. The daughter didn't say anything when they arrived. She just looked at her mother and went up to her room to mourn Buddy’s death. The mother was about to follow after her but she decided to give her some space. The mother then went into the kitchen to make an important phone call.
After a few rings on the phone the person on the other end answered, “Hello?” the unknown person said in a sleepy tone. “Hello, Tomoki, sorry to bother you but I have a question for you.” the mother said.

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest

WINNER: The Hollow Dog - Zoid

Tomoki is a psychiatrist who specialises in mental cases and also a close friend to the mother. “Sure, ask away,” Tomoki said. The mother then explained the incident that happened with Buddy and how she noticed something was different. “The dog was missing its insides, Tomoki, but it seems like she didn't even notice at all.”
The ongoing conversation continued between the two while the daughter still mourned for Buddy. “Why did you have to go Buddy?” I said throwing myself on the bed weeping. While I was in the middle of bawling my eyes out, I heard a dog barking in the backyard. I looked out the window and I saw a dog in the backyard. “It must be another stray dog.” I said sadly. I went downstairs and heard my mother on the phone in the kitchen. While sneaking past the kitchen I overheard my mother say “I think my daughter is delusional. Can you come over and ask her yourself.”
I stood there in the doorway shocked by what I just heard from my mother. To think that she thinks I'm delusional
over the incident between me and Buddy. I continued to the backyard filled with anger and saw the dog laying

down. I kneeled down and called the dog over, the dog's ears perked up and slowly came to me. When the dog finally came up to me I was completely shocked by what I saw in front of me. The dog that was in front of me was Buddy.

As time went by there was a knock on the door. The mother rushed to the door and it was Tomoki, she let him inside. “Thank you for coming all the way here. She's upstairs.” the mother said. As the two made their way to the steps, the mother heard some noise outside in the back. Curious, the mother went to the back and heard her daughter talking to someone or something. When the mother opened the back door what she saw was the most horrific thing she ever saw.
It was her daughter throwing a ball in the distance and in her other hand she was dragging a lifeless dog to the ball. That dog was Buddy. The mother screamed from the top of her lungs and passed out, luckily she was caught by Tomoki. “This is something more than just a small mental issue.” Tomoki said, voice trembling. The daughter stopped doing what she was doing and looked at tomoki and said “Buddy was never dead, my mom lied to me.” She slowly smiled menacingly.

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest
HONORABLE MENTION: Phantom Requiem - Quay*

*This is an excerpt from the story 'Phantom Requiem' by author Quay. Please click on the hyperlink, emphasized in blue coloring, to read the full story.

It was before the events started to occur in Skyland City; people lived peaceful and quiet lives. Some people even wonder if there is something behind the scenes, brimming…
Kouta was a tall boy who stood six foot seven, he had a long tail of white hair, and he was about seventeen years old. He always looked pale in comparison to other people at times, but he had a very calm mind and didn’t cause trouble for other people. He never had any friends growing up due to his silent nature and scary drawings; Or so people thought! Kouta wasn’t the best artist in the world but he knew his way around on teaching himself how to draw. Kouta has always been alone. He never knew who his father or mother was, and he was in adoptive care ever since he was five years old. There is also something people never knew about Kouta...He could see spirits. Not only of humans, but little replicas of animals and, even on rare occasions, objects. He learned about this ever since he was seven but he never knew how this happened. Kouta has lived by himself ever since he was thirteen years old to feed himself. There was a distant relative he never knew that sent him money every month to feed and buy the clothes he needed, despite never being there. Kouta understood that whether he wanted to meet him or her one day was a matter of destiny. This is a story about a boy’s paranormal fantasies turning into reality as we dive deep into chaos everywhere in Skyland City…
It was a sunny afternoon at Skyland High School and Kouta was sitting in his chair across from everyone around him like he always had. He was drawing a few sketches on his paper. These drawings looked to be ghosts trapped in multiple dimensions but nobody but Kouta could understand this. A guy came over, who looked to be in a good mood, meaning he wanted to punch something, he looked to be about sixteen and had brown hair and glasses, as he walked over:

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest

HONORABLE MENTION: Can Blood Stain Linoleum? - Cheyenne Sawyer

You never realise how much blood a person has until you see it all in front of you. You know the amount in pints, or at least some vague idea. But when you see the life of someone pouring out onto the linoleum floor it really puts it into perspective. You don’t see their life laid out before you, you can’t see the memories flooding out of them- only the hot, deep red ichor.
The blood is flooding onto the carpet…

It’s so odd watching as the body twitches, like it's trying to keep itself awake. “Don’t die,” it tells itself. It's so odd how the eyes still try to blink, like heavy lids on a tired child who wants to stay up past midnight. It's so odd watching the chest and thinking you’ll see it rise and fall.
There’s so many things you notice when looking at a scene like this. How the knife was cruelly discarded, how fleeting footsteps left a trail of blood. How the bloody handprint on the wall is shaped like a heart.
Someone will have to clean the carpet now I guess…

Strands of long blonde hair begin to look a dirty brown. The amount of bleach to achieve that color, all gone to waste now. The blood looks blue in this lighting now, the only light is that of the moon creeping in from a broken window. It looks like still water, a peaceful pond that floods the linoleum floor.
Can blood stain linoleum?

The body is cold now, presumably. Stiff hands that are outstretched as if reaching out to someone who is no longer there. An echo of their pleas fill the room. “Please don’t let me die alone.” As they choked on the blood that was put there by someone else. The blood that remained flowing after their heart stopped, the blood that kept pumping through their hands when they clutched their side. The blood that ran cold and dry long after the knife clattered to the ground.

You never really realise how much blood you have until you watch it pour out of yourself.

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest
HONORABLE MENTION: Midnight Mind - Kimberly Mayer

The ghost stood before me,
unafraid of what I may say,
unafraid of what I might do.
I started to wonder if this was true.
Ghosts weren’t real after all,
It’s all in my head.
My mind is playing tricks
on me, maybe I should take my meds.
And yet I followed
my translucent friend,
down the road
and past my home.
It took me to a place,
where it was
I can’t quite say.
They told me it was safe
and I believed all was okay.
I heard a distant voice,
calling out, calling my name. The ghost told me to drown it out,
to ignore those who would

bring me down.
I had the world inside my mind and they would take my lives. The ghost began to fade,
saying a soft goodbye
before it died
one last time.
All of a sudden, I awoke
in a bed,
surrounded by choked
up friends.
They claimed I spoke to
the air,
followed an invisible friend so far, and I was struck by a car.
Then I remembered.
I remembered the ghost’s face. I’m not sure why I didn’t see it before, why it was so hard to find.
After all, it was mine.

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest
HONORABLE MENTION: Walter Post - James Velkey

Walter Post has been haunting me lately. He’s not real, I know that of course. Walter is the name of that kid who lived in our house in the last century, in that old picture of our house with the boy in black leaning against the brick post, someone to blame for the thumping of old pipes and the doors left open. So yeah, Walter Post the Friendly Ghost isn’t actually there, it’s my family's inside joke. It’s just easier if you give these things a name, I think. I’m sitting in my bed, maybe scrolling through social media or playing a game, the same place I’ve been for two hours. That desk chair with the uneven weight spins on its own slightly, and I think to myself “Must be Walter.” Then, as if called in like an actor to the light, there he is. Sat in the chair with his knees to his chest, black button up shirt wrinkled and his black newsboy cap sitting askew. “This is good for you,” he says with that same morose tone as always, “all that effort to get up just isn’t worth it.” And of course, I know this is my cue to pull myself off the mattress. Take a walk, play with the dog, something to get rid of him. Walter protests, and that’s how I know I’m making a good choice. I guess in some ways Walter

helps, even if he doesn’t really want to.

He’s not evil or mean, at least I don’t think so. Maybe that’s weird, since it would seem like his only purpose is to make me feel worse, but it doesn’t really feel like that. I think he just has different goals and thoughts than I do. Walter follows me down the hall, hanging just over my shoulder, his feet just a few inches off the floor. “We’re already so tired, this is just going to make it worse.” I don’t even bother turning to speak, “Scientifically speaking, that’s not true. Being outside increases your energy.” He just responds with a disgruntled sigh. Science seems to work well on him.

He doesn’t speak up again until I’m passing through the shade of the trees that hang over the sidewalk, lacing overhead to form a sort of leafy tunnel. He’s quieter now. “Why do you

FEATURED: from the Ghost Story Contest
HONORABLE MENTION: Walter Post - James Velkey

"want to get rid of me so badly? You’re nicer when I’m here giving you advice. More helpful, less argumentative.” “Only sometimes. Other times you make it worse.” When he replies, he’s louder again. “But you’re more creative when I make suggestions, your work is better.” “Only if I’m able to actually get up and work on it.” He knows I’m right. He quiets, somewhat content to follow behind me on the sidewalk for now. I think secretly he enjoys being outside too. I don’t think he’s really actually trying to make things worse for me. He just has different ideas about what will be good for me.

I can’t hate him, even if I do wish he wasn’t here sometimes. I don’t think I’d be who I am without him. He’s not just all the bad thoughts, things in real life aren’t that simple. He’s a specific section of my mind. My art wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be as curious about the world. All those skills with researching and learning everything I can about a

topic and sorting information, I know that that comes from his obsessions. It’s odd. I sometimes feel like I’d be better if he wasn’t here, but better at what? I feel like it wouldn’t be the same. Who knows, maybe I only feel like that because he’s over my shoulder, whispering to me as I write.

FEATURED: from the Love Poem Contest
WINNER: He Stayed - Charleigh-Anne Farrell

what did she love about him the most?
she loved how he stayed
he loved a broken girl and held her pieces together
he never walked over the glass the broom left behind
but instead he lifted her feet to avoid her getting cut
he picked her up
he put on shoes and walked over the shattered glass
not once looking at the dangers below
just stared into the eyes of the girl in his arms
not once questioned if she was too heavy to carry
he would adjust the grip to make sure he could carry her for longer
the glass imprinted on his dirty new balances
but he stayed
didn't think to set her down
never let her scuffed up feet get cut again
he made a barrier
as he carried her, he gave her something to love
a love so strong, she forgot she had broken glass under her feet

when times got tough and the wind picked up, he walked faster
gripped harder on the girl
he made sure she was still safely in his arms
he told her not to look back
when she got a glimpse of what the two of them walked over
he made sure to catch every tear she dropped
he loved this girl more than she loved herself
he showed her more love than anyone has
constantly, he constantly loved her
and
he stayed
and made sure she stayed too