Storyborn

Chapter 1 - Burger Blanco

Mike and Terry were two friends. They ran a burger business together in a town called Cornucopia. The burger business was called Mike's Burgers. However, the business didn't turn out very well. Nobody wanted to buy their burgers. Instead they went to McDonald's or Burger King. The two friends wanted to think of a recipe that would save their business. One night Mike dreamt of a ghost living in a toilet. When he woke up, there was a scream and a ghost flew into his room. Then, he picked up a baseball bat and flung it at the ghost. The ghost fell to the ground, dead. Next, Mike picked up the ghost. To his surprise, the ghost smelled very good, so he locked it up in a freezer and forgot all about it.

One day a man came to the shop and asked, “Do you have any burgers? I am starving.”

Mike told him there were no more burgers, but just when the man was about to leave, Mike said, “Wait, I think I got something for you.” He went back into the kitchen and took the ghost out of the freezer. He diced it up into a burger patty and served it. The man thought it

was so good that he had three servings and he left stuffed. Mike had discovered the secret recipe that would save their business.

When Mike told Terry the amazing news.

Terry exclaimed, “If a ghost is that tasty, then I know a place where we will catch some. There is a ghost ship on that abandoned dock that no one has used for years. Many people have seen the ship. I am positive that it exists.” They both decided it would be worthwhile to catch more ghosts, so in the middle of the night they went to the dock with some knives and a bat and waited for the ghost ship.

Just when they were about to give up, one came. It was a pirate ship and shimmering white. And it made no sound. It sailed towards them and stopped at the edge of the dock. Then a wooden board came down to let them on. Terry and Mike went on the ghost ship and their jaws dropped. There was nothing on the ship. The dock was very clean, and there was a polished sword laying on the deck as if waiting for someone to pick it up.

But they didn't dare do that. They kicked it across the deck and into the sea. There was also a thigh bone. They could tell it because it was very big and it kept trembling and zooming small distances as if looking for another bone it could join up with. They stepped carefully over the thigh bone and explored the deck.

Finally, Terry found a staircase leading down. They ventured down the flight of stairs and ended up on the second deck, where the crew slept. They went into one of the rooms and held up their weapons, but there were no ghosts there. The room, like the deck, was very clean. They lowered their weapons and decided to explore.

Suddenly there was a yelp. Mike turned. Terry was gone. Mike began to panic. He dashed to one room after the other. Finally, when he was about to open the door, he heard the buzzing of flies. He stood still and thought, “Why were there flies on a ghost ship? “Perhaps the crew left some meat here and it rotted. Yes, that must be it. But no, if it is a ghost ship, then the meat couldn't rot. He opened the door a crack and the smell of rotting meat wafted out, and buzzing of flies became more intense. He closed his eyes and held his breath and kicked the door open. The door fell off its hinges with a crash. Mike opened one of his eyes and then the other.

“Oh my,” the words slipped out of him. The room was total chaos. He thought it was the kitchen from the barrels of flour and water. The flour was tipped over and water was spilled everywhere. Herbs and other ingredients were also scattered. Glass shards littered the floor, and then he saw the windbreaker. Terry had one of those. He stepped towards it cautiously. He used the tip of his pocket knife to pry a section of the windbreaker away.

That's when he saw the blood. He gasped and the knife fell out of his hands, but the windbreaker came off with it. Then Mike exclaimed, “Holy god!” It was the body of Terry. His face was torn off and one of his legs was missing. His belly was also ripped open and the stomach and guts were pulled out, their contents spilled on the floor. Blood was everywhere. Mike turned back and threw up. He saw the body again, and threw up again. Finally, he managed to pull himself together and turn to look at the body. It looked like Terry was killed a few months ago. Unlike a few minutes ago, he thought the ghost ship must speed time up. He examined the other cabins for any bodies, but found none. He finally came to the top deck again to breathe some fresh air. That is when he saw the lady. She was standing there and shimmering white, like the ship. She turned back and Mike nearly screamed. Although she had a pretty face, her eyes had no pupils and one of her lips was bleeding badly. Mike threw his pocket knife at the lady. It flew through her.

She screamed, “I will get you!” and fell to the ground like the ghost Mike killed in his bedroom. He picked it up and threw it over the deck, meaning to collect it later. Then he wondered what the lady meant by “I will get you.” Then Mike noticed there was a small blaze on the ship and ignited everything. Mike tried to flee, but when he looked down there were knives and swords everywhere pointing up as if waiting for him to jump down and die. He had no choice but to climb up the crow's nest that was the tallest part of the ship. But the fire burned quickly and reached him. The crow's nest toppled down into the sea of swords and knives. Mike closed his eyes for the impact but felt nothing. He splashed into the cold sea and everything went dark. When he woke up again, he was washed back onto the dock. It was still dark. He checked his watch. It was one

AM in the morning. He quickly dashed back to the burger place and thought, “I will never catch ghosts again.” When Mike returned to the burger place, he sank down on a sofa and grieved for his friend. Suddenly there was a crack of lightning and Mike jumped. There was a knock on the door. He went to answer it and when he opened the door, he got a big surprise. Terry was standing there, but alive.

Terry smiled up at Mike and said, “Missed me?” Mike's jaws dropped, after a while of shock.

He spluttered, “but how? You're supposed to be dead!”

Terry shrugged and replied, “Well, technically I am dead, but people cannot die on the ghost ship because the ghosts are exact copies of people who are dead. When I was rebirthed I was on the deck, I returned back to the burger place. But I didn't expect you to be here.”

But although they didn't catch any ghosts, his business still went well. Because their story spread like fire through town. Now, dear reader, you have reached the end of the tale Burger Blanco.

By Eric Cui - 6th Grade Buy this book from Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FD9QSP5H