The ball gets in the basket, the point is scored. That’s it.Their lives are simple. They play every single day just as ifthey were games, and every time something goes right, dunk - and congrats bro, you just made a basket. But I don’t see it that way. Life just seems to mean more than that to me. So, what gives if they miss the whole point?  I mean they make a point on the scoreboard, but they miss the “whole” point of everything…anyways, if I could show them the difference between playing someone in a game and actually being someone, I’d do it. But as of right now, their whole life + game = everything idea is just a waste. Maybe everything to them is. –Zack

When You Take a Drive: Part 2

“There’s no time,” Barry Grandell said while
grabbing his grandson Zack by the arm. Zack then
allegedly pulled his friend Derrik along, not wanting to
be the only “sane” one on what was to happen,
whatever that would be. The forest was beginning to
feel colder in the inside than it was feeling previously
on the outside of the plain. Zack Grandell had so many
questions. How was his grandfather, who everyone
thought to be “dead,” be alive at that moment,
running in the woods like an insane elderly man, with
spy gear oozing out from his pockets? Suddenly Zack
had a flashback from a couple of years before.  
He and his grandfather had been playing video
games when he helped save his grandfather’s life in
the game. Barry had put his arm on his grandson and
said, “You’re a trustworthy partner, Zack.” Zack
couldn’t explain it but that was one of the moments
where he felt there was a double meaning to what his
grandfather would say.       
He had never thought about it that way until
recently and now it was all making sense. But if he
really was trustworthy, why didn’t his grandfather
open up to him with the truth? Zack deserved to
know, didn’t he? Derrik, or Dare, as Zack’s best friend
was called because of all of the “daring” things he liked
to do, wanted to remain still, but his curiosity, (not to
mention Zack’s mean grip on him) dragged him
onward through the dark woods.   
Zack’s mind couldn’t piece anything else together
since his heart was beating so fast. Barry finally
stopped, standing still in confusion, almost as if he had
forgotten where he was taking the boys. “We just
have to find shelter first,” he said. Zack sighed. He
wanted to ask some questions, but he quickly realized
he should just enjoy the moment since it was unusual
and forget the lies. For now. After all, though he felt
betrayed, in some ways Zack had been waiting for this
all his life. “Uh, grandpa, your house is back there.
Why can’t we just…” “Shshsh.”
“They could be anywhere.” Zack looked over at
Dare. “Who?” “Them,” Barry gestured his head toward
somewhere, somewhere too far way to see in the
dark. “Guys, I just saw a shadow creeping not too far
in front of us,” Dare whispered. “What?” Zack asked,
breathing hard. “Oh great,” Barry remarked
sarcastically.  Just then a loud BOOM was heard and
about ten feet in front of the three an explosion
appeared because of the sound! It looked precisely like
a grenade going off from one of the video games Zack
and Dare played.        
The two teenagers stared in awe at the
commotion. It then began to die down and disappear
into flames as the darkness once again took control.
“What” – Zack could not form a sentence. “Just ignore
that,” Barry stated. “It’s not a real explosion; it’s just a
trick from them. Although you should watch your step
or you’ll be trapped. Come on, let’s keep going.” Zack
wanted to ask, “Who are they?” but he was so freaked
out and amazed at the same time that he didn’t know
if he should say anything at the moment.   
The trio began to rumble their way through the
woods, trying to stray away from sharp twigs and
anything else they couldn’t see that could accidently
“go off.” They continued until they made it out into the
road going east from Barry’s house. Dare was still
freezing in the night, partly from shock from the
explosion and partly from the cool early morning
breeze that had been stirring in the forest. It really
seemed to be taking forever for the sun to rise. Dare
was also mad at Zack for not asking questions about
what was going on until he remembered only a second
later that he would normally not bother himself. 
The road, in someway, felt harder and more
difficult to trod on than the forest had five minutes
earlier. But right before Zack could think of anything to
say, they had reached some houses lined up facing the
forest. “We’re here.” Barry jutted up the step of a
house’s entryway and just stared up at it. The
moment puzzled Zack but he figured it had meant
something, and decided to wait.   
Looking closer, Zack realized that the house
appeared to be abandoned, yet there were lights on.
”Uh, grandpa, I don’t know what is really happening,
but I’m crossing the line here. Whose house is this,
and why are we going in it?” Barry simply glared at
Zack’s serious expression and guffawed. “First of all,
we’re not going ‘in it.’ We are going through it.” Zack
glanced at Dare in dangerous awe. What was going
on?          
“Here’s the thing,” Dare took his phone out.
“There’s an emergency at my house and I’ve gotta get
back, and since I, uh, we took Zack’s car, I need a
ride, so yeah” – “Oh, Derrik,” Barry slapped him on
the arm. “I was just kidding! It’s some old spy humor,
I’m afraid. You don’t need to lie! Come on, ole’ Donny
will be out in no time.” Zack knew what Dare had been
trying to do and he was suddenly more concerned
than before that his grandfather had figured it out.
“So you admit you are a spy?’’ Barry stood still in
his tracks. “I promise I will explain later,” he finally
replied after a chilling silence. Zack lifted his hands up
in a halt. “Seriously, I don’t who ‘Donny’ is, but I
refuse to do anything else until you explain what is
happening.” “I will Zack, I promise. Now, hand over
that map, will you?” His grandfather held a promising
stare of honesty, so Zack finally decided to give in. The
map he and Dare had printed out a few hours before
from the flash drive Zack had found, brought them
into Barry’s house and into the woods that night,
looking for answers regarding his grandfather’s
mysterious death.       
Just as Zack finally figured out his grandfather
might have been a spy, Barry Grandell had appeared
out of nowhere from the woods. And now he had just
taken them to some strange house nearing dawn.
Zack was about to hand him the map, when he
stopped. “Why did you lie to everyone about being
dead?” He had decided it was time and refused to take
a step further until he knew at least something. Barry
sighed and sat down on a dark green bench next to
the left of the door after a long knock on it. 
“Derrik, please stop pretending you want to leave
and go to school. I’ve heard about your grades,” He
gestured to the uncomfortable teen who gave an
offensive look. “Listen, I joined this, uh, group after
college where I became involved in all of this. And the
guy who brought me in it is” … ”Don Davis,” an elderly
man’s head peaked out from behind the door before
stepping out. “Wow, Barry, this must be him, or him,”
he added seeing two boys instead of one.  
Don rattled his almost empty cola can. “I guess
your flash drive idea actually worked.” Zack jumped in,
finally putting it all together. “Wait, you mean the flash
drive that brought us here? You planted it for me to
find? It was in your office at your house! Grandpa,
how did you know I would even find it, and, why did
you do it?”         
The birds of the nearby forest started chirping a
song, telling the sun that it was time to fully rise. Don
turned to Barry. “I was expecting you to be here
earlier. Funny, how of all times that your grandsons
could figure it out, it had to be now, the day we are
supposed to be leaving.” “Well, first of all, this is my
grandson Zack and the other boy is his best friend,
Derrik. And, Don, it’s not like I could predict when he
would figure it out, but I knew he would. I just so
happened to be running from them in the forest when
these two found me. They set off a detonator when
we were in there.” Suddenly, Zack and Dare noticed
Don get concerned.       
“Did you lose ‘em?” “Yes, yes. Now, please, let’s
get going.” “No. I need to know what’s happening.
First, there’s the lying to your family for years, then
the flash drive, then the explosion in the woods, and
now this place? I deserve to know the truth. Now.”
Zack crossed his arms, no longer amused by his
grandfather’s tricks. Dare just stood silently, very
confused and exhausted. “As you may have figured,
we have been spies all our lives, and we’ve kept it
undercover, obviously. There’s a letter,” Barry
massaged his head.       
“It explains everything, but basically the company
I had just begun working for right out of college was
mixed up with some bad people, and Don asked me to
help get everyone out of it. And then some,” … Barry
glanced at Don, not knowing how to say it.
“Enterprises began regularly employing us as spies. I
was always very paranoid that people would grow
suspicious of me for not retiring, so I made it look like
I was, well dead, when I went overseas four months
ago. Now, see, I have this senior citizen spy thing I’m
trying to do…”        
  Zack and Dare had absolutely nothing to say.
“But just in case it didn’t work out, even though I’d do
it anyway, I came up with an idea to plant a drive for
a descendant to find. Someone who could carry the
spy tradition on…” The silence was clear. “And you
were my choice, Zack.”