A Child Called It By Dave Pelzer :: Free Essay Writer

A Child Called â€Å"It† By:David Pelzer I chose the book, The Child Called â€Å"It† because one of my friends told me about the book. The whole story line caught my attention. I was amazed at what was going on in this boy’s life. This book, a true story, is very emotional. The title relates to the book because his mother calls the boy, David Pelzer, â€Å"It†. She does not call him by his real name. His mother treats him like he is nothing but an object. Also, I think the title fits well because it catches people’s attention and gives a clue what the book is about.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author is attempting to teach the readers that no one should treat people this badly. David is an innocent child and does not deserve his bad childhood. David does not even do anything wrong, and his mother continued to treat him like an object. Pelzer succeeded in telling how cruel the mother is. He also teaches that people can be cruel to each other, and that it is important to teach people that kindness can go a long way. The whole book discusses his childhood. Pelzer wrote some sequels to tell the rest of his child life for the interested readers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story begins when he was first treated badly, in the 1960’s. His mother was a good mother until David’s father and mother started drinking. Its mother changed drastically from the alcohol drinking. The story begins in the kitchen of his house when he is doing his chores. His mother has a time limit on how fast he should do the dishes. If he does not accomplish the dishes in that amount of time, he does not get supper. In addition to the hunger, he receives a beating. The setting is very effective because the reader gets into the story. The setting also prepares you for what the mother does in the future.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main characters are David, his mother, and father. David, the abused child, cannot escape his mother’s punishments. David’s mother is a drunken, abusive mother that refers to her child as â€Å"It†. David’s father is caring and understanding, but cannot help David escape. The mother and father drastically change after the alcohol abuse. David also changes in his attitude towards his parents. At first, David cares that his mother treats him badly. After awhile, he doesn’t care and becomes apathetic.

Treasure Island :: Treasure Island Essays

Treasure Island   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Treasure Island is an epic adventure: a tale of pirates, treasure, and exploration of an unknown and mysterious island.   Throughout the course of the book, many lessons are learned that give the reader advice so he/she can better survive in the real world.   The literal Treasure Island itself represents the world in which we live, a world with many hazards and scattered rewards to be found.   The bookà ­s most important lesson to be learned though, is that a solid command of the language and knowing when to use it can make life much easier for a person.   Although this story takes place centuries before our time now, this useful lesson found in it can still be applied to our lives today.      This story is so realistic in its context of the time and its superb character dialogues, that it is very easy for the reader to be transported right in the middle of that age, and right in the company of sea-faring pirates.   The authorà ­s vivid descriptions of Jim, the main character and narrator, the many Pirates and other characters he comes across during his adventures are painstakingly detailed. You can see young Jim's eager and excited face when he finds out he is going on a treasure hunt.   You can also easily picture the rips and bloodstained rags of the pirates, and smell the foul alcohol on their breaths.   The description of the island itself is extremely detailed also, and it seems like the author was looking straight off a geographical map when he wrote the in-depth account of it.    However deep these descriptions of setting and character pull you into the plot, the dialogue the author places in the story is what makes the story more impressive and impossible to escape.   It is so captivating and original to us because we hardly ever hear it, and the phrases are very creative.   An example is this quote from Long John Silver: " But for two year before that, shiver my timbers! the man was starving. He begged, and he stole, and he cut throats, and starved at that, by the powers!"   The colorful language of the book even had me repeating phrases such as this one long after I had finished reading it.

Cultural Masculinity and Crime Essay

Masculinity is a fact that is conceptualized in Goliath in various ways and to a number of argumentative ends. On the other hand, there is a unique culture of masculinity which is identified as a connection between the ‘tough’ and ‘rough’ males and the law enforcers. Other connections include the nature of significance that is attached to homosocial bonding as well as the masculine camaraderie and familiar social concerns of the youth. This is a common masculine culture that maps well onto the cultural traits of hegemonic masculinity that is depicted elsewhere within the literature on crime and masculinity. Therefore, masculinity is to some extend, used in the description of a given culture together with a series of activities that are ideologically and empirically allied to men. The fact that men are vilely overrepresented in almost all major violent events is not unusual. This kind of prevalence of male’s takes place in the arrest, character report as well as victimization data. Therefore, lack of attention paid to what it is being male that causes sadistic behavior is not anything surprising. However, recent work has recommended that masculinity is a crucial construct when it comes to understanding both crime and violence. Toughness, coupled with eagerness to resort to vicious behavior to be in position to resolve some of the interpersonal disputes are central characteristics of mannish identity. Conviction that gender roles are constructed socially is highly approved in the social science context. Basing on this construction, it is important to note that not all men posses the same levels of masculine traits. Primary differences in gender roles are highly inclined to be crucial variables in the comprehension of violence (Vold, 2002). Consequently, any form of male-to-male violence examination without fully understanding and unfolding the influence as well as the meaning of masculine gender is incomplete. Moving towards the relationships that exist between crime and masculinities, various criminologists have highly centered on men and boys but fully ignored women and girls. The main reason behind this is that there exists a considerable realism that the male dominate crime. For these criminologists, women are most subjected to exhaustive as well as all- embarrassing criminological gaze. Specifics of men are disgraced. Each in his own way has generally contributed to what has become a traditional criminology. Therefore the investigator needs to inspect and examine women and not men, to be able to examine the high gender ratio in crime. Men have a implicit monopoly on the charge of syndicated corporate and opinionated crime. Criminologists have continuously advanced gender as the main analyst of criminal occurrences. Historically as well as contemporaneously, criminologists have related masculinity purely with men and boys. Criminology is therefore dualist; it concentrates mainly on gender differences in crime eschewing an assessment of gender similarities in crime (Messerschmidt, 1993). Pre-feminist criminology The earliest theories of criminology relied mainly on indispensable ‘sex roles’ frame work to be able to explain the relationship that exists between crime and masculinity. These sex roles were used to find out the various types and range of offenses committed by both male and female. Therefore for sex-role theorists, criminological theory is termed cryptically as biological differences that exist between men and women. Criminal behavior is learnt in the same manner as conforming behavior. Therefore various people may come to engage in criminal behavior due to the excess of definitions that are favorable to the violation of the law compared to the definitions which are unfavorable. Boys get involved in crime to a great extent compared to girls. Higher levels of criminal acts among the boys may possibly be explained through differences in care as well as supervision of the male and female. In as much as boys and girls exist within poverty-stricken neighborhoods, the nature of social setting does not explain the rate delinquency among the boys as well as girl delinquency which is always low. The main difference comes about because girls are supervised a little bit more carefully in their behavioral traits in accordance with the known social codes. This takes place with greater care and consistency compare to boys. They are taught to be nice while the boys are taught to be ‘real men’, meaning they have to force themselves through situations. Boys whose behavior closely related to girls were considered ‘sissy’. The issue of masculinity and the connections it has to criminal traits in male has been discovered in both the past as well as the present criminological contemplation discussions. An attempt to link the issue of masculinity with felony was brought about by (Sabo & Kupers, 2001) He alleged that masculinity was internalized mainly during adolescence. Boys engage in highly delinquent forms of behavior compared to girls. Boys are taught to be both ‘tough’ and ‘rough’. The common traits associated with masculine behavior like toughness and dominance that are termed essential in asserting a strong reputation in masculinity, are acquired through these contacts with older males. Sabo and Kupers view the family as a structural conformity that has biological demands, working well for the society when the role of women is emphasized mainly in the internal affairs of the family; a wife being the manager of the household and men providing income-earning function in the society Masculinity within patriarchal society is stereotypically referred to as independent, aggressive, dominant, competitive as well as unemotional. It represents characteristics which are direct opposition to femininity. Sex roles differentiate some of the behaviors that are appropriate for men and women. The characteristics of masculinity are closely related to both positive and powerful terms of social identity (Vold, 2002). When gender roles are over exaggerated and their terms barely defined, negative consequences can easily occur. For instance, certain behaviors tend to be viewed positively, like independence. Conversely, assistance from others is required to overcome some of the personal problems like drug and alcohol addiction or even financial hardships. Independence can get in the way of potential remedy and behaviors that are productive. In addition to that, aggressiveness and high level confrontation can be of great use in various circumstances; on the other hand, they can be counter productive when trying to promote compromise. Fascinatingly, criminologists have persistently identified gender as the key predictor of behaviors associated with crime whereby men and boys commit disproportionate amount of crime. Masculinity is developed through learning and imitation whereby organizations, peers, and society as well as parents tech and train patterns that are appropriate as far as behavior is concerned. Those kinds of support and peer networks maintain and encourage the existence of ideas about masculinity. In many situations, if men decline to adhere to the stringent guidelines that are masculine gendered, or publicly express attributes of feminine, they are usually considered weak and also vulnerable. There are existences of theories which try to argue out that using criminal male accomplishment in reference to status achieved by the toughness as well as courage which it takes to perpetrate the level of crime. This is likely to be there when the masculinity of an individual is questioned. There is lack of traditional outlets that can be used to prescribe the stereotypical masculinity. Various forms of violence incidences were highly likely to include men who are highly masculine who had few outlets to affirm their level of masculinity. Prison environments are usually designed to restrict substitute modes of adaption that is separate from hypermasculine responses to both the prison as well as other inmates (Messerschmidt, 1993). On a stronger note, prisons are meant to socially castrate males together with their ability to adhere to good definitions of masculinity allowing for multiple modes of responding to their ability for success and incarceration. Rational outlets of Masculinity Explanations as to whether the outlets for traditional masculinity are essential only in a sense of dichotomous sense are not common and whether the quality of every single outlet play a crucial role too is not also clear. Therefore the operationalizations of what are commonly known as masculine outlets, for that reason are poorly constructed. Though the idea of proper traditional outlets addresses the subject of perceived status, satisfaction on a personal level may play a crucial role in how an individual others view them. For example, being married during the time of an offense is likely not to be important like being married happily at the time of an offense. The condition of being married is bound to be crucial; the quality of the affair may play a similarly important role in masculine accomplishment. Incase success within a marital affiliation is a desirable position; men with similar position can uphold their desirable success. On the same note, knowing whether a man has children or not is likely to be different from knowing whether a man is living in the company of his children. Fathering a child is different from being the father of a child. Successful parenting is an enhanced traditional outlet than simply having a child. The quality of the relationship between a parent and a child is likely to bring about a sense of pride that in turn can form a positive outlet for the display of masculine nature. Any given position that can be envied by other males would be an affirmative arena for masculine behavior. One other problem concerning customary outlets is the use of just the traditional outlet to emphasize masculinity. Some other alternative outlets may play a fundamental role. The use of violence is seen as an alternative incase legitimate means for the display of masculinity are not available. What is not a there in most cases is, however, the discussion about other means of legitimate masculine display apart from violence. For example, the number of sexual associates of the past can be. The show of one’s manhood through various sexual encounters has been highly theorized as an essential feature of masculinity. As an extension of the idea, literature about anthropology show that a number of children that a man can father are likely to play a crucial role. More numbers of express the virility of the man (Popay & Jeanette, 1998). The past displays of violence are an additional area that is likely to be important in the acquisition of the knowledge about masculinity. Incase a man has proven his level of masculinity in the past several time; then he has the ability to draw from those experiences to affirm his masculinity in any given occasion. The existence of quite a number of less appropriate outlets for a man to be able to demonstrate his masculinity is an essential area to explore in future. The idea of traditional outlets needs to be reconceptualized then broken down into two separate categories. Tog start with, a category that has positive social outlets, for instance, successful parenting and job satisfaction would be the most appropriate ways of assign successful masculinity. Addition of less appropriate outlets like number of past sexual partners, children as well as successful violent encounters can tap into different way than the way a man can assert some level of masculinity without necessary involving violence within the existing condition. Due to the fact that the determination of masculinities and femininities can not be done biologically, it makes meaning to identify and also examine some of the possible masculinities by the females (femininities by both men and boys) and the nature of relationship that exist between them and crime. Masculinity is evoked by a way of clarification of the various activities of the male, especially the young and strong. The actions of both the police and the youths can be described as assertion of masculinity (Campbell, 1993). Masculinity is viewed as being ‘accomplished’ through engagement in rioting, violence as well as a variety of displays of machismo by the young men. It is Campbell’s argument which, upon being faced with the problem of the reconstruction of a male identity in circumstances of social immobility and expanded levels of adolescence in which importantly, traditionally empowered masculine qualities is absent. These young and lower working group men find other highly destructive forms of masculine expressions. The consequential mode of masculinity is in some ways, not dissimilar from that of sub-cultural accounts that are usually experienced. Within the face of justifiable opportunities that are ‘blocked’, a means of being victorious ‘as a man’ is usually associated with engagement with crime or delinquency. Men and women have got different experiences in life based on the present social and economical marginal communities (Burke, 2005). The interaction of race as well as class with gender puts in some different dynamics to the masculinity that is negotiated (Popay & Jeanette, 1998). Though doing gender is one way of looking at the accomplishment of masculinity, some of the imposed characteristics are likely to play a fundamental role in gender display. The examination of masculinity the way it is constructed for the male through political, cultural and class can lead to varied results compared tog the examinations of masculinity which are believed to be constructed by men (Burke, 2005). Factors which are not within the realm of masculinity need to be discussed when it comes to understanding the causes and effects of masculinity as a source of criminality. Situational variables are likely to essential where the issue of violence is concerned more than just the personal level traits of masculinity. Other than the types of masculine traits that are highly intrinsic to violent men, the forms of situational variables, for instance, location, time of the day as well as presence of others are highly likely to take place in a male-male situations of violent. Hegemonic Masculinity Males who try to exhibit higher levels of masculine traits and who posses fewer acceptable outlets to fully affirm masculinity are highly like to get involved in events that are violent. This confirms the notion that men who do not have masculine resources are more likely to resolve to criminal acts. To add on that, traditional situational variables like presence of third party, use of drugs and alcohol, physical location among other factors are likely to cause some level of impact to the outcome of the events that are usually associated with violence and crime. At the same time, the unfolding actions such as the use of character attacks as well as sequencing of various actions have to be highly considered (Messerschmidt, 1993). These contexts can easily strengthen or even change the brunt of masculinity on both violent as well as non violent events. Females are more liable to experience the strains, for instance the burden of family members and restrictions on their behavior. Female are highly restricted to the confidential sphere. This form of strain involves restraint of the available opportunities of criminality as well as the excessive social control. It is a little bit hard to participate in serious violent as well as property crime incase someone spends a little time in public and is burdened with the demands of the family. The chances of men being in public is higher compared to that of women, therefore they go through conflicts with others as swell as criminal victimization. Therefore they are more likely to be involved in violence. On this thread, the various forms of strain which are experienced by men and women lead to higher rates of crime done by the former (Collier, 1998). Male and female also differ basing on their response towards strain emotionally. Strain leads to certain forms of negative emotions for instance anger. In turn, this creates a considerable amount of pressure to take corrective action. Though they both respond to anger, male and female have different experiences in anger. Female anger is usually accompanied by high levels of emotions such as fear and depression. Male anger on the other hand, involves moral outrage. Women learn to blame themselves for negative treatments by others and are ready tog view their anger as inappropriate and some failure of self control. Conversely, men tend to b lame others for their negative conduct and view their fury as an assertion of their masculinity. As a result, men are more likely to commit property and violent crimes while women tend to resort tog self destructive forms of deviance like the use of drugs and eating disorders (Pease & Camilleri, 2001). Beyond Dualism A result of exclusive concentration of the differences in gender has been aimed at directing the theory in criminology away from factors that seriously complicate gender differences, for instance when the female engage in what has been traditionally and culturally been defined as â€Å"male crime†. Such forms of approaches lead tog a full as well as complete situational appreciative of what really gender and crime is. Abstracting gender from within its social context as well as the insensitivity to issues of agency like perspectives masquerade the possibility that gender patterns of crime may vary situationally. The dualism that exists between individuals as well as social and the split between psychology has remained focal to sociogenic criminology. But the problem with criminology, as pointed out by the feminists has not been due to the fact that a range of experiences have been unified, the result being ways in which both men and women are likely to exist within different relations to the notions of community. Criminology has failed in trying to engage with the ways upon which the subjects that are under scrutiny have been produced within discursive limits. In trying to conceptualize individual as well as historical form of subject positions, the approach exposes itself to analysis of the various ways in which criminal boys as well as men have themselves been produced through a set of apparatuses of social regulation together with management (Messerschmidt, 1993). The framing of debates around boys, schooling as well as urban disorder through making a reference of the catastrophe of masculinity transcends the specialty of crime and criminality. The masculine group in this context is can be referred to the outlaw, a figure produced by the cultural construction of the socially powerful. Literary, a sub-cultural criminology outlaws represents the joy riders, the urban trash scroungers and the gang members who engage in what they do with a destructive mind in operation. They are deemed to move within space of everyday as a fully absorbed body of experience. It involves a subject without a topic, a body of wrongful desires colliding with others along its teleological route (Burke, 2005). The sub-cultural theme lacks the common ethical part due to the conception of everyday as a series of the symptoms that are idiosyncratic; this form of criminality becomes rendered as a set of lifestyle of choice. (Arnot, & Cornelie, 1999). It is long been a truism that girls are fond of internalizing and boys tend to externalize their pain and despair. For that reason, boys are highly likely to be arrested for serious crimes of all sorts. The fact that a large number of boys and girls are brought up in dysfunctional families can act as a proof as to why the habit is rampant and provides with reasons as to why criminal ways and cultural constructs of masculinity contribute to the prevalent behavior. In many occasions, boys are locked up for exhibiting some sort of behaviors which are contrary to the expectations (Burke, 2005). In most cases, these behaviors take place in the inner city where effects of racism as well as poverty often cause young, poor and black males strike as a way of exhibiting compulsive masculinity to be in position to compensate for the feeling of shame, frustration. And in compulsive masculinity, the masculine values tend to be rigid prescription for toughness, thrill-seeking as well as a willingness to use violence to iron out interpersonal conflict. Nevertheless it is usually recommended with great dismay that the reform about feminism refers to turning men into women; making men ‘soft’, emasculating them so that they unable to battle or stand with fulfillment in the world. Solving the problem of violence as well as building the culture of certainty of peace needs change in masculinities. However, this does not mean that should become weak or incapable. On the other hand, violent usually takes place due to masculinities that are constructed to make violence an easy option or simply the only option to be considered. Building peace is a highly complex and arduous undertaking and it is worthy of heroic effort both from men and women. This understanding of competence essentiality to some masculinity can be connected to equality other than exclusiveness: democracy requires skilled practitioners. Education can not easily re-socialize both boys and men to the extent of pressing them into a non-violent mould but it can open up a varied diversity of pathways so that the boys and men have an ability to use broader scale of their capacities such as the nature of communication, emotions and politics. Education has the ability to show boys and men quite a number of ways of being a man. It can enable them to familiarize this kind of diversity. It can inculcate in them the capacities for actions that are non-violent and train them some of the techniques that involve peace because of the acquisition of the techniques of combat (Collier, 1998). Efforts in education in this line cannot produce considerable results in isolation. There is need for a strong support through action in some areas of life that are likely to make greater range of experience possible for men as well as non-violent conducts which are easier for them. This involves actions that are aimed at reducing gender hierarchies together with antagonisms within the spectrum of social life. To achieve this fit, they should be addressed in the recommendations from the meetings, media, work places, public arena and other spheres of life including both private and public institutions. An example of the need for change is the important social mission of peacekeeping. This is presently performed by the organizations like police as well as international peacekeeping forces that are overwhelmingly staffed by men who are perceived to have a profoundly masculinized cultural behavior and are highly liable tog acts of confrontation. In this case, there is need for organizational change both in culture as well as in the femininity division of labor. The effective and a long term strategy aimed at reducing adolescent male crime would need to confront the highly daunting challenges of trying as much as possible to change the patriarch gender order, together with oppressively hierarchical group structures and their attendant masculine social construction. Conclusion Masculinities and crime are terms of conceptual revolution within the social life and they reflect the various changes within our understanding of the real world as factors that that are present within our midst. Questions about femininity and masculinity should be given an upper hand due to the fact that they influence our lives directly. References Vold, G. B. , Bernard T. J. , & Snipes J. B. (2002). Theoretical Criminology. Georgia: Oxford University Press. Messerschmitt, J. W. (1993). Masculinities and Crime: Evaluation and Reconceptualization. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Sabo, F. , & Kupers, T. A. (2001). Jail Masculinities. U. K. Temple University Press. Burke, R. H. , (2005). A preamble to Criminological Theory. New Jersey: Willan Publishing, 2 Collier, R. (1998). Masculinities: Acts of Crime and Criminology. New York: SAGE Publishers, Arnot, M. L. , & Cornelie, U. (1999). Gender & Crime in present Europe. London: Routledge Publishers. Popay, J. , & Jeanette, E (1998). Men, femininity Divisions and Wellbeing. U. K. : Routledge Publishers. Pease, B. , & Camilleri, P. J. (2001). Performing with Men within the Human Services. New Jersey: Allen & Unwin Press.

Media Convergence Essay

What is meant by the term media convergence with regard to technology, and how has it affected everyday life? For technology, media convergence is when different media come together to do a similar task. The poster child for this is the smart phone. Smart phones are used to talk, text, email, social network, school, business, web browsing, and take picture and video. There are things that I’m sure I missed, but the smart phone has become the epicenter of technological convergence. I spend a lot of my time on my phone posting and promoting for my business. I make jewelry, cat pads, and blankets so I make my items, take a picture, post it to my Etsy page, and promote my store with my phone. When I get an order, I get an email to my phone I contact the buyer for details, and take payments all with my phone. With going to school, I need to check up on the forums to read and respond per class requirements. It makes it easy to do my schoolwork when I’m not home at my laptop. I can pull up the reading for the class on my document reader on my phone and catch up while I’m out and about. I have a six month old and I love taking his picture! I take his picture and post it on Facebook, Instagram, and send it to my family. My family lives in another state so I use my phone to do FaceTime with them so we can see each other all the time. The smartphone has made productivity so much easier because it’s all in one place and instant gratification is satisfied. For some people, the smartphone has become a big distraction and a burden. I think that cell phones, in general, have done damage to people’s grammar and spelling. They use shorthand and abbreviations for words and have forgotten the rule of your and you’re because they are using the shorthand ur. It’s sad.

Geronimo, Apache: A Defined Leader Essay

Geronimo, or Goyathlay, was a great leader from the Native American Bendokohe Apache tribe. Although Geronimo was not a chief, the tribe depended on the wisdom of his position as medicine man. Geronimo gathered such influence that he led the last force to formally capitulate to the United States by upholding the core Apache values that embody aspects that define a leader: aggressiveness, diligence, and courage. Geronimo displayed the core values of the Apache tribe, that of courage, diligence, and aggressiveness. These core values were what kept them relatively safe from the increasing white settlement of the west, including Arizona and New Mexico (theinitialjourney.com.) Aggressiveness, or assertiveness, and diligence are key aspects of a leader. A leader must be assertive as well as persistent in order to maintain a certain level of self-confidence and influence over those who are being led, even in the face of adversity. Geronimo was a great example of an assertive leader. Geronimo led the last major Native American Fighting force to surrender to the United States; thus having the longest resistance period. Upon the discovery that his mother, wife, and his three young children had been murdered by Spanish troops, he vowed to avenge his family by retaliating against as many Mexican settlements as possible. It was not until this time that he received his ‘power’ of seeing visi ons (Indigenouspeople.net.) It was because Geronimo held out the fight for so long, that he became the most famous Apache of all. By asserting himself and applying himself in order to uphold his values of family and justice, Geronimo became an essential force as medicine man, acting in and out of combat as a spiritual and intellectual leader of the people (not a chief.) He escaped from a reservation three times, the final time bringing thirty five warriors and one hundred nine women and children into freedom. It was through these acts that Geronimo transcended above and beyond advisor. Geronimo became an icon of freedom and persistence in the face of difficulty (indiginouspeople.net.) Through assertiveness and diligence, Geronimo led his people towards their goal of freedom, also exhibiting another leadership trait: courage. Geronimo was exceptionally courageous in the face of difficulty. After vowing to avenge his family and tribe after their murder was an extreme test of character and will. It was a desire for freedom that continued his ability to evade capture. â€Å"Geronimo, the most legendary Apache war leader, along with seventeen warriors, fourteen women, and six children had evaded capture despite pursuit by 5,000 U.S. troops, 3,000 Mexican soldiers, and numerous Indian scouts for more than six months. To the U.S. Army and the settlers in the area, the supremely resilient and determined Geronimo had personified the Apache problem and every raid on a village or wagon train was attributed to him. In the years following his surrender, Geronimo came to personify resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.† Tfaoi.com Geronimo became a legendary force against the involuntary capture of Native American Apaches. His courage against adversity compelled many to follow him. His statements of â€Å"coming from a land with no enclosures† inspired people to follow a dream of living simply as they once did; without white influence (indigenouspeople.net.) It was though this notion of courage to follow one’s true intuition in life. Geronimo was an exceptional leader, exuding leadership through the qualities of assertiveness, diligence, and courage. Geronimo led his people to freedom against white influence many a time over, evading capture the longest out of all Native American fighting forces. It was through diligence in repetition of effort, assertiveness of his character and moral intuition, and courage in the face of danger and difficulty that makes Geronimo a great leader. Works Cited: www.indigenouspeople.net/geronimo.htm http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/4aa/4aa494b.htm www.theinitialjourney.com/features/geronimo_01.html

“Explain the concept of homeostasis with reference to the control of heart rate, breathing rate, body temperature and blood glucose levels” Essay

Homeostasis is where the body keeps a constant internal environment. This involves all the metabolic processes taking place In the body as well as the blood, tissue fluid and all the contents in the body’s cells. There are a range of variables from heart rate to the blood glucose levels that the body will take into account. Negative feedback will occur when something changes from its normal in the body. The body then will come back with a response to cancel out the difference to bring it back to its normal. An example of this is if blood glucose level falls the body will then convert the glycogen in the body to glucose which will bring back the energy in the cells to its normal amount. This system requires receptors so that they are able to detect the change in your body. As well as receptors it also needs a control centre so that the information that has just been received can be processed to then give the correct response of what the body should do. Most of the control centres can be found in the brain. It will also need effectors so that after the change has happened and the body is back to normal it can reverse the change to keep the body at its original state. The brain and the central nervous system controls something called the homeostatic mechanisms. This is when they anticipate whether there may be a rise or a fall compared to that of the normal. An example of this is the feeling of being cold or tired this is a result of having not eaten for a sufficient period of time. This has then been sent as a message to the brain which your brain will then tell you to eat so that the energy you get from the nutrients in your food will counteract those feelings and make them disappear. As this is an anticipation from the central nervous system and the brain it is called feed forward as it hasn’t happened yet. Heart rate The heart is regulated by impulses produced by nerves acting on the sino-atrial node (S-A node). These nerves are called â€Å"sympathetic† and â€Å"parasympathetic† nerves. The sino-atrial node is found in the upper part of the right atrium it is made up of a cluster of excitable cells. Both the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are two branches that come off the automatic nervous system which controls the heart. The parasympathetic nervous system- This is a calming system as it is active while the heart is resting. It causes the heart to beat slower than it would normally. The main nerve involved is the vagus nerve without it the heart rate would increase. The sympathetic nervous system- This occurs when the body is feeling stressed. As a result of it, it causes the heart to beat faster it also adds a boost to the hormone adrenaline which occurs during fear. The nerves involved in this system is called the cardiac nerves. The sino-atrial node releases nerve impulses that are sent across the atrial muscle fibres which causes them to contract. Cells that form the atrio-ventricular node (A-V node) catch those impulses which are then relayed to a band o conducting tissue. This tissue is made from large modified muscle cells that are called Purkinje fibres. So that the atria can complete their contractions and allow the atrio-ventricular valves to close there may be a delay for the transmission to come through. The valves of the hear are found on a fibrous figure-of-eight. It is centred between the atrial and the ventricular muscle masses. The first part of the conducting tissue will enable the excitatory impulses to be able to cross to the ventricles. It will then split into both sides of the ventricular septum where it will then spread out into their muscles. They pass extremely quickly which result in them contracting which forces the blood to travel around the body to the organs that need it. Breathing rate To control your breathing there is a respiratory control centre this again is located in the brain stem. This will observe the levels o carbon dioxide and oxygen in your blood. It also makes sure that your breathing stays at a steady rate which will maintain balance as well as homeostasis In the body. Most of the time you don’t have to think about your breathing at all or how you control it as your brain does it automatically for you. However in some cases in aerobic activity you control your breathing for example in Pilates when instructed through each stretch you get told when to inhale and exhale during the exercises. Saying that if the oxygen levels go down below a certain point your brain will override your control and make you breathe. During exercise or any physical activity that require more oxygen than normal. The oxygen in your blood will decrease while the carbon dioxide in the blood will increase. When the respiratory control centre in the brain realises that the levels aren’t normal as a result it will increase the heart rate and the breathing rate to counteract it. The brain will slow the heart rate and breathing rate once the exercise has stopped this will make sure that it maintains the homeostasis in the blood. While resting your breathing is at a steady rate. This means that there will be the right amount of oxygen in the blood on the inhale as a result the right amount of carbon dioxide will come out the blood in exhale. Body temperature Again the brain controls the body temperature. Specifically in the brain it is the hypothalamus processing centre that controls the exact temperature the body is. The brain will trigger changes to the effectors around the body for example to the sweat glands . If the body temperature is not maintained then it can either become too cold resulting in hypothermia or too hot resulting in heat stroke either can be fatal. On average your normal body temperature is 37 °C. Our body maintains this temperature by balancing the heat we generate compared to the heat we lose in everyday life. Saying that not our whole body is 37 °C for example are fingers and toes remain at a lower temperature as a result of the energy being lost from the blood while travelling to the tips. There are temperature receptors in our skin which once detects change in the external temperature will send a message to the hypothalamus in the brain. Again in the hypothalamus processing centre (brain) which will detect the changes in temperature of the blood. There are 2 ways in which the brain tells the body to keep its temperature at 37 °C. The first one is if someone is really cold then the hair on the skin if the hair is on ends then it will trap more warmth compared to if it is flat on the skin. The second one is if someone is really hot then the glands on their skin secrete sweat which increases the loss of heat when it evaporates, as a result it cools the body down, It slows back down when the body temperature returns to normal. During vasodilatation the warm blood will flow closer to the surface of the skin so that the heat will be able to transfer into the air. As a result of this the skin will become redder. During vasoconstriction which is where the blood vessels that supply war blood constrict, as a result this will reduce the blood flow in turn this will reduce the heat that can be lost. In this case their skin will look pale. Blood glucose This involves the kidneys keeping the water balance at the correct level of water in and out of the body. This will ensure that that the cells in our body work efficiently. The kidneys is where the blood gets filtered while passing through, these molecules are made up from water, glucose, salt and a waste product called urea. It then will reabsorb what the body needs which includes glucose salts and water back into the blood. It then travels around the body. The products that haven’t been fully absorbed are excreted from the body. It mainly consists of urea but there may be left over water glucose and salts that the body doesn’t need. In the brain the pituitary gland controls how much ADH is produced and released into the bloodstream which as you know travels to the kidneys to get filtered. Which in turn controls the concentration of urine. It also checks the concentration of blood plasma. When there isn’t enough water in the body the hypothalamus will detect it and send a message to the pituitary gland which will then release the ADH hormone, this will ensure that the urine is more concentrated resulting in less water, this will be maintained by the kidneys. As a result the water levels in the blood will return to normal. Cells make their energy from the glucose in the body this is why glucose levels need to be regulated tightly. As a result of this if there is too much glucose in the body may lead to diabetes 2, if too low it may lead to starvation of the body. In the body there are many reasons for the rise and fall of the glucose levels. For example digestion after a meal and the production of insulin by the liver these both lead to a rise in the glucose levels. An example of a fall in glucose levels is the transportation of the sugar into the cells as well as the loss of glucose through the urine. The regulation of the glucose levels relies on a variety of things from molecules to organs and cell types. Bibliography Edexcel Level 3 Health and Social Care Book http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5101742_describe-regulation-blood-glucose-levels.html

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 27

The next morning was another hot one. The air was so thick and humid that just walking down the street felt unpleasantly like getting slapped with a warm, damp washcloth. Even inside the car with the air-conditioning on, Elena could feel her usual y sleek hair frizzing from the humidity. Stefan had turned up at her house just after breakfast, this time with a list of herbs and magical supplies Mrs. Flowers wanted them to find in town for new protection spel s. As they drove, Elena gazed out the window at the neat white houses and trim green lawns of residential Fel ‘s Church as they gradual y gave way to the brick buildings and tasteful store windows of the shopping district at the center of town. Stefan parked on the main street, outside a cute little cafe where they had sipped cappuccinos together last fal , shortly after she'd learned what he was. Sitting at one of the tiny tables, Stefan had told her how to make a traditional Italian cappuccino, and that had led to his reminiscing about the great feasts of his youth during the Renaissance: aromatic soups sprinkled with pomegranate seeds; rich roasts basted with rosewater; pastries with elder flowers and chestnuts. Course after course of sweet, rich, heavily spiced foods that a modern Italian would never recognize as part of his country's cuisine. It had awed Elena when she realized how different the world had been the last time Stefan had eaten human food. He had mentioned in passing that forks had just been coming into fashion when he was young, and that his father had derided them as a foppish fad. Until Katherine had brought a more fashionable and ladylike influence into their home, they had eaten with only spoons and sharp knives for cutting. â€Å"It was elegant, though,† he'd said, laughing at the expression on her face. â€Å"We al had excel ent table manners. You'd hardly have noticed.† At the time, she'd thought his differences from the boys she'd known – the scope of al the history he'd witnessed – was romantic. Now†¦ wel , now she didn't know what she thought. â€Å"It's down here, I think,† said Stefan, taking her hand and returning her to the present. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers said a New Age store has opened up and that they should have most of the things we need.† The shop was cal ed Spirit and Soul, and it was tiny but vibrant, cluttered with crystals and unicorn figurines, tarot cards and dream catchers. Everything was painted in shades of purple and silver, and silky wal hangings blew in the breeze from a little windowsil air conditioner. The air conditioner wasn't strong enough to put much of a dent in the stickiness of today's heat, though, and the birdlike little woman with long curling hair and clattering necklaces who emerged from the back of the shop looked tired and sweaty. â€Å"How can I help you?† she said in a low, musical voice that Elena suspected she adopted to fit in with the atmosphere of the store. Stefan pul ed out the scrap of paper covered in Mrs. Flowers's tangled handwriting and squinted at it. Vampire vision or not, deciphering Mrs. Flowers's writing could be a chal enge. Oh, Stefan. He was earnest, and sweet, and noble. His poet's soul shone through those gorgeous green eyes. She couldn't regret loving Stefan. But sometimes she secretly wished that she had found Stefan in a less complicated form, that the soul and the intel igence, the love and the passion, the sophistication and the gentleness had somehow been possible in the form of a real eighteenyear-old boy; that he had been what he had pretended to be when she first met him: mysterious, foreign, but human. â€Å"Do you have anything made of hematite?† he asked now. â€Å"Jewelry, or maybe knickknacks? And incense with†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He frowned at the paper. â€Å"Althea in it? Does althea sound right?† â€Å"Of course!† said the shopkeeper enthusiastical y. â€Å"Althea's good for protection and security. And it smel s great. The different kinds of incense are over here.† Stefan fol owed her deeper into the shop, but Elena lingered near the door. She felt exhausted, even though the day had barely begun. There was a rack of clothing by the front window, and she fiddled distractedly with it, pushing hangers back and forth. There was a wispy pink tunic studded with tiny mirrors, a little hippieish but cute. Bonnie might like this, Elena thought automatical y, and then flinched. Through the window, she glimpsed a face she knew, and turned, the top hanging forgotten in her hand. She searched her mind for the name. Tom Parker, that was it. She'd gone out on a few dates with him junior year, before she and Matt had gotten together. It felt like a lot more than a year and a half ago. Tom had been pleasant enough and handsome enough, a perfectly satisfactory date, but she hadn't felt a spark between them and, as Meredith had said, â€Å"practiced catch and release† with him, â€Å"freeing him to swim back into the waters of dating.† He had been crazy about her, though. Even after she set him loose, he'd hung around, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes, pleading with her to take him back. If things had been different, if she had felt anything for Tom, wouldn't her life be simpler now? She watched Tom. He was strol ing down the street, smiling, hand in hand with Marissa Peterson, the girl he had started dating near the end of last year. Tom was tal , and he bent his shaggy dark head down to hear what Marissa was saying. They grinned at each other, and he lifted his free hand to gently, teasingly tug on her long hair. They looked happy together. Wel , good for them. Easy to be happy when they were uncomplicatedly in love, when there was nothing more difficult in their lives than a summer spent with their friends before heading off to col ege. Easy to be happy when they couldn't even remember the chaos their town had been in before Elena had saved them. They weren't even grateful. They were too lucky: They knew nothing of the darkness that lurked on the edges of their safe, sunlit lives. Elena's stomach twisted. Vampires, demons, phantoms, star-crossed love. Why did she have to be the one to deal with it al ? She listened for a moment. Stefan was stil consulting with the shopkeeper, and she heard him say worriedly, â€Å"Wil rowan twigs have the same effect, though?† and the woman's reassuring murmur. He would be busy for a while longer, then. He was only about a third of the way down the list Mrs. Flowers had given them. Elena put the shirt back in its place on the rack and walked out of the store. Careful not to be noticed by the couple across the street, she fol owed them at a distance, taking a good long look at Marissa. She was skinny, with freckles and a little blob of a nose. Pretty enough, Elena supposed, with long, straight dark hair and a wide mouth, but not especial y eyecatching. She'd been nobody much at school, either. Vol eybal team, maybe. Yearbook. Passable, but not stel ar grades. Friends, but not popular. An occasional date, but not a girl who boys noticed. A part-time job in a store, or maybe the library. Ordinary. Nothing special. So why did ordinary, nothing-special Marissa get to have this uncomplicated, sunlit life, while Elena had been through hel – literal y – to get what Marissa seemed to have with Tom and yet she still didn't get to have it? A cold breeze touched Elena's skin, and she shivered despite the morning's heat. She looked up. Dark, cool tendrils of fog were drifting around her, yet the rest of the street was just as sunny as it had been a few minutes before. Elena's heart began to pound hard before her brain even caught up and realized what was happening. Run! something inside her howled, but it was too late. Her limbs were suddenly heavy as lead. A cool, dry voice spoke close behind her, a voice that sounded eerily like the observational one inside her own head, the one that told her the uncomfortable truths she didn't want to acknowledge. â€Å"Why is it,† the voice said, â€Å"that you can only love monsters?† Elena couldn't bring herself to turn around. â€Å"Or is it that only monsters can truly love you, Elena?† the voice went on, taking on a softly triumphant tone. â€Å"Al those boys in high school, they only wanted you as a trophy. They saw your golden hair and your blue eyes and your perfect face and they thought how fine they would look with you on their arm.† Steeling herself, Elena slowly turned around. There was no one there, but the fog was growing thicker. A woman pushing a strol er brushed past her with a placid glance. Couldn't she see Elena was being wrapped in her own private fog? Elena opened her mouth to cry out, but the words stuck in her throat. The fog was colder now, and it felt almost solid, like it was holding Elena back. With a great effort of wil , she forced herself forward, but could stagger only as far as the bench in front of a nearby store. The voice spoke again, whispering in her ear, gloating. â€Å"They never saw you, those boys. Girls like Marissa, like Meredith, can find love and be happy. Only the monsters bother to find the real Elena. Poor, poor Elena, you'l never be normal, wil you? Not like other girls.† It laughed softly, viciously. The fog pressed thicker around her. Now Elena couldn't see the rest of the street, or anything beyond the darkness. She tried to get to her feet, to move forward a few steps, to shake off the fog. But she couldn't move. The fog was like a heavy blanket holding her down, but she couldn't touch it, couldn't fight it. Elena panicked, tried once more to surge to her feet, opened her mouth to cal , Stefan! But the fog swirled into her, through her, soaking into her every pore. Unable to fight back or cal out, she col apsed. It was stil freezing cold. â€Å"At least I have clothes on this time,† Damon muttered, kicking at a piece of charred wood as he trudged across the barren surface of the Dark Moon. The place was beginning to get to him, he had to admit. He had been wandering this desolate landscape for what felt like days, although the unchanging darkness here made it impossible for him to know for sure how much time had passed. When he had awakened, Damon had assumed he would find the little redbird next to him, eager for his company and protection. But he'd awoken alone, lying on the ground. No phantom, no grateful girl. He frowned and poked one tentative foot into a heap of ash that might conceal a body, but was unsurprised to find nothing but mud beneath the ash, smearing more filth onto his once-polished black boots. After he'd arrived here and started searching for Bonnie, he'd expected that at any moment, he might stumble across her unconscious body. He'd had a powerful image of what she would look like, pale and silent in the darkness, long red curls caked with ash. But now he was becoming convinced that, wherever the phantom had taken Bonnie, she wasn't here. He'd come here to be a hero: defeat the phantom, save the girl, and ultimately save his girl. What an idiot, he thought, curling his lip at his own foolishness. The phantom hadn't brought him to wherever it was keeping Bonnie. Alone on this ash heap of the moon, he felt oddly rejected. Didn't it want him? A sudden powerful wind pushed against him, and Damon staggered backward a few steps before regaining his balance. The wind brought a sound with it: Was that a moan? He altered his course, hunching his shoulders and heading for where he thought the sound had come from. Then the sound came again, a sad, sobbing moan echoing behind him. He turned back, but his footsteps were closer together and less confident than usual. What if he was wrong and the little witch was hurt and alone somewhere on this godforsaken moon? He was terribly hungry. He pushed his tongue against his aching canines, and they grew knife-sharp. His mouth was so dry; he imagined the flow of sweet, rich blood, life itself pulsing against his lips. The moaning came once more, from his left this time, and again he swerved toward it. The wind blew against his face, cold and wet with mist. This was al Elena's fault. He was a monster. He was supposed to be a monster, to take blood unflinchingly, to kil without a second thought or care. But Elena had changed al that. She had made him want to protect her. Then he had started looking out for her friends, and final y even saving her provincial little town, when any self-respecting vampire would have either been long gone when the kitsune came, or enjoyed the devastation with warm blood on his lips. He'd done al that – he'd changed for her – and she stil didn't love him. Not enough, anyway. When he'd kissed her throat and stroked her hair the other night, who had she been thinking of? That weakling Stefan. â€Å"It's always Stefan, isn't it?† a clear, cool voice said behind him. Damon froze, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. â€Å"Whatever you tried to take from him,† the voice continued, â€Å"you were just fighting to even the scales, because the fact is that he got everything, and you had nothing at al . You just wanted things to be fair.† Damon shuddered, not turning around. No one had ever understood that. He just wanted things to be fair. â€Å"Your father cared for him much more than he did for you. You've always known that,† the voice went on. â€Å"You were the oldest, the heir, but Stefan was the one your father loved. And, in romance, you have always been two steps behind Stefan. Katherine already loved him by the time you met her; then the same sad story happened al over again with Elena. They say they love you, these girls of yours, but they have never loved you best, or most, or only, not even when you give them your whole heart.† Damon shuddered again. He felt a tear run down his cheek and, infuriated, wiped it away. â€Å"And you know why that is, don't you, Damon?† the creature went on smoothly. â€Å"Stefan. Stefan's always taken everything you've ever wanted. He's gotten the things you wanted before you even saw them, and left nothing for you. Elena doesn't love you. She never has and she never wil .† Something broke inside Damon at the creature's words, and instantly he snapped back to himself. How dare the phantom make him question Elena's love? It was the only true thing he knew. A cold breeze fluttered Damon's clothing. He couldn't hear the moaning now. And then everything went stil . â€Å"I know what you're doing,† Damon snarled. â€Å"You think you can trick me? Do you suppose you can turn me against Elena?† A soft, wet footstep in the mud sounded behind him. â€Å"Oh, little vampire,† the voice said mockingly. â€Å"Oh, little phantom,† Damon said back, matching the creature's tone. â€Å"You have no idea the mistake you just made.† Steeling himself to leap, he whirled around, fangs ful y extended. But before he could pounce, cold strong hands seized him by the throat and pul ed him into the air. â€Å"I'd also recommend burying pieces of iron around whatever you're trying to protect,† the shopkeeper suggested. â€Å"Horseshoes are traditional, but anything made of iron, especial y anything round or curved, wil do.† She'd passed through various stages of disbelief as Stefan had tried to buy up what seemed like every single object, herb, or charm related to protection in the shop, and now had become manical y helpful. â€Å"I think I've got everything I need for now,† Stefan said politely. â€Å"Thank you so much for your help.† Her dimples shone as she rang up his purchases on the shop's old-fashioned metal cash register, and he smiled back. He thought he had managed to decipher every item on Mrs. Flowers's list correctly, and was feeling fairly proud of himself. Someone opened the door to come in, and a cold breeze whooshed into the shop, setting the magical items and wal hangings flapping. â€Å"Do you feel that?† the shopkeeper asked. â€Å"I think a storm's coming.† Her hair, caught by the wind, fanned out in the air. Stefan, about to make a pleasant rejoinder, stared in horror. Her long locks, suspended for a moment, twisted their tendrils into one curling strand that spel ed out, clearly and chil ingly: matt But if the phantom had found a new target, that meant Elena – Stefan whipped around, looking frantical y toward the front of the shop. Elena wasn't there. â€Å"Are you al right?† the shopkeeper asked as Stefan stared wildly around. Ignoring her, he hurried back toward the door of the shop, looking down every aisle, in every nook. Stefan let his Power spread out, reaching for a trace of Elena's distinctive presence. Nothing. She wasn't in the shop. How could he not have noticed her leaving? He pressed his fists into his eyes until little stars burst beneath his lids. This was his fault. He hadn't been feeding on human blood, and his powers were sorely diminished. Why had he let himself get so weak? If he had been at ful strength, he would have realized immediately that she had gone. It was self-indulgent to give in to his conscience when he had people to protect. â€Å"Are you al right?† the woman asked again. She'd fol owed him down the aisles of the store, holding out his bag, and was looking at him anxiously. Stefan took hold of the bag. â€Å"The girl I came in with,† he said urgently. â€Å"Did you see where she went?† â€Å"Oh,† she replied, frowning. â€Å"She went back outside when we were heading off to look through the incense section.† That long ago. Even the shopkeeper had noticed Elena leaving. Stefan gave a jerky nod of thanks before striding out into the dazzling sunlight. He looked frantical y up and down Main Street. He felt a wave of relief when he spotted her sitting on a bench outside the drugstore a few doors down. But then he took note of her slumped posture, her beautiful blond head resting limply on one of her shoulders. Stefan was at her side in a flash, grateful to find her breathing shal ow yet steady, her pulse strong. But she was unconscious. â€Å"Elena,† he said, gently stroking her cheek. â€Å"Elena, wake up. Come back to me.† She didn't move. He shook her arm a bit harder. â€Å"Elena!† Her body flopped on the bench, but neither her breathing nor the steady beat of her heart changed at al . Just like Bonnie. The phantom had gotten Elena, and Stefan felt something inside him tear in two. He had failed to protect her, to protect either of them. Stefan gently slid a hand under Elena's body, cupping her head protectively with his other hand, and pul ed her into his arms. He cradled her against him and, channeling what little Power he had left into speed, began to run. Meredith checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time, wondering why Stefan and Elena weren't back yet. â€Å"I can't read this word at al ,† Matt complained. â€Å"I swear, I thought my handwriting was bad. It looks like Caleb wrote this with his eyes closed.† He had been running his hands through his hair in frustration and it stood up in messy little spikes, and there were faint blue shadows under his eyes. Meredith took a swig of coffee and held out her hand. Matt passed her the notebook he'd been examining. They'd discovered that she was the best at reading Caleb's tiny, angular handwriting. â€Å"That's an O, I think,† she said. â€Å"Is deosil a word?† â€Å"Yes,† said Alaric, sitting up a little straighter. â€Å"It means clockwise. It represents moving spiritual energy into physical forms. Might be something there. Can I see?† Meredith handed him the notebook. Her eyes were sore and her muscles stiff from sitting al morning and going through Caleb's notebooks, clippings, and pictures. She rol ed her shoulders forward and back, stretching. â€Å"No,† said Alaric after a few minutes of reading. â€Å"No good. This is just about casting a magic circle.† Meredith was about to speak when Stefan appeared in the doorway, pale and wild-eyed. Elena lay unconscious in his arms. Meredith dropped her coffee cup. â€Å"Stefan!† she cried, staring in horror. â€Å"What happened?† â€Å"The phantom's trapped her,† Stefan said, his voice catching. â€Å"I don't know how.† Meredith felt like she was fal ing. â€Å"Oh no, oh no,† she heard herself say in a tiny, shocked voice. â€Å"Not Elena, too.† Matt stood up, glowering. â€Å"Why didn't you stop it?† he asked accusingly. â€Å"We don't have time for this,† Stefan said coldly, and strode past them to the stairs, clutching Elena protectively. In silent accord, Matt, Meredith, and Alaric fol owed him up to the room where Bonnie lay sleeping. Mrs. Flowers was knitting by her bedside, and her mouth opened into an O of dismay when she saw who Stefan carried. Stefan gently placed Elena on the other side of the double bed by Bonnie's pale and tiny form. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Matt said slowly. â€Å"I shouldn't have blamed you. But†¦ what happened?† Stefan just shrugged, looking stricken. Meredith's heart squeezed in her chest at the sight of her two best friends laid out like rag dol s. They were so stil . Even in sleep, Elena had always been more mobile, more expressive than this. Over the course of a thousand sleepovers, ever since they were little, Meredith had seen sleeping Elena smile, rol herself more tightly in the blankets, snuggle her face into the pil ows. Now the pinkand-gold-and-cream-colored warmth of Elena seemed faded and cold. And Bonnie, Bonnie who was so vibrant and quickmoving, she'd hardly ever kept stil for more than a moment or two in her whole life. Now she was motionless, frozen, almost colorless except for the dark dots of her freckles against her pale cheeks and the bright expanse of red hair on her pil ow. If it weren't for the slight rise and fal of their chests, both girls could have been mannequins. â€Å"I don't know,† Stefan said again, the words sounding more panicked this time, and looked up to meet Meredith's eyes. â€Å"I don't know what to do.† Meredith cleared her throat. â€Å"We cal ed the hospital to check on Caleb while you were gone,† she said careful y, knowing what effect her words would have. â€Å"He's been released.† Stefan's eyes flashed murderously. â€Å"I think,† he said, his voice like a knife, â€Å"that we should pay Caleb a visit.† Elena was suspended in darkness. She wasn't alarmed, though. It was like floating slowly under warm water, gently bobbing in the current, and a part of her wondered distantly and without fear whether it was possible that she had never come up out of the waterfal basin at Hot Springs. Had she been drifting and dreaming al this time? Then suddenly she was speeding, bursting upward, and she opened her eyes on dazzling daylight and gulped a long, shaky breath. Soulful, worried dark brown eyes gazed down into hers from a pale face hovering above her. â€Å"Bonnie?† Elena gasped. â€Å"Elena! Thank God,† Bonnie cried, grabbing her by the arms in a viselike grip. â€Å"I've been here al by myself for days and days, or what feels like days and days anyway, because the light never changes, so I can't tel by the sun. And there's nothing to do here. I can't figure out how to get out, and there's nothing to eat, although I'm weirdly not hungry, so I guess it doesn't matter. I tried to sleep to pass the time, but I wasn't getting tired, either. And suddenly you were here, and I was so happy to see you, but you wouldn't wake up, and I was getting real y worried. What's going on?† â€Å"I don't know,† Elena said groggily. â€Å"The last thing I remember is being on a bench. I think I got caught by some kind of mystical fog.† â€Å"Me too!† Bonnie exclaimed. â€Å"Not the bench part, but the fog part. I was in my room at the boardinghouse, and this weird fog trapped me.† She shivered theatrical y. â€Å"I couldn't move at al . And I was so cold.† Suddenly her eyes widened with guilt. â€Å"I was doing a spel when it happened, and something came up behind me and said stuff. Nasty things.† Elena shuddered. â€Å"I heard a voice, too.† â€Å"Do you think I†¦ set something loose? When I was doing the spel ? I've been worrying that maybe I might have done so accidental y.† Bonnie's face was white. â€Å"It wasn't your fault,† Elena reassured her. â€Å"We think it's the phantom – the thing that's been causing the accidents – that it stole your spirit so it could use your power for itself. And now it's taken me, I guess.† She quickly told Bonnie about the phantom, then pushed up on her elbows and real y looked around for the first time. â€Å"I can't believe we're here again.† â€Å"Where?† asked Bonnie anxiously. â€Å"Where are we?† It was midday and a sunlit blue sky stretched brightly overhead. Elena was pretty sure it was always midday here: It certainly had been the last time she'd been here. They were in a wide, long field that seemed to go on forever. As far as Elena could see, there were tal bushes growing – rosebushes with perfect velvety black blooms. Midnight roses. Richly magical roses grown for holding spel s only the kitsune could coat onto them. A kitsune had sent Stefan one of these roses once, with a spel to make him human, but Damon had accidental y intercepted it, much to both brothers' dismay. â€Å"We're in the kitsunes' magic rose field, the one that the Gatehouse of the Seven Treasures opens into,† she told Bonnie. â€Å"Oh,† Bonnie said. She thought for a moment and then asked helplessly, â€Å"What are we doing here? Is the phantom a kitsune?† â€Å"I don't think so,† Elena answered. â€Å"Maybe it's just a convenient place to stash us.† Elena took a deep breath. Bonnie was a good person to be with in a crisis. Not good in the way that Meredith was – Meredith's way was the planning-and-getting-things-done way – but good in that Bonnie looked up at Elena trustingly with big, innocent eyes and asked questions, confident that Elena would know the answers. And Elena would immediately feel competent and protective, as if she could deal with whatever situation they were embroiled in. Like right now. With Bonnie depending on her, Elena's mind was working more clearly than it had for days. Any moment now, she'd come up with a plan to get them out of here. Any moment now, she was sure. Bonnie's cold, smal fingers worked their way into Elena's hand. â€Å"Elena, are we dead?† she asked in a tiny, quavering voice. Were they dead? Elena wondered. She didn't think so. Bonnie had been alive after the phantom took her, but unwakeable. It was more likely their spirits had traveled here on the astral plane and their bodies were back in Fel ‘s Church. â€Å"Elena?† Bonnie repeated anxiously. â€Å"Do you think we're dead?† Elena opened her mouth to respond when a crackling, stomping noise interrupted her. The rosebushes nearby began to thrash wildly, and there was a great rushing sound that seemed to come from every direction at once. The snapping of branches was deafening, as if something huge was shoving its way through the bracken. Al around them, thorny rosebush branches whipped back and forth, although there was no wind. She yelped as one of the waving branches smacked her across the arm, gashing her skin open. Bonnie let out a wail, and Elena's heart beat double time in her chest. She whirled around, pushing Bonnie behind her. She bal ed her hands into fists and crouched, trying to remember what Meredith had taught her about fighting an attacker. But as she looked around, al she could see for miles were roses. Black, perfect roses. Bonnie gave a smal whimper and pressed closer to Elena's back. Suddenly Elena felt a sharp, aching tug rip through her, as if something were being pul ed slowly but firmly out of her torso. She gasped and stumbled, clutching her hands to her stomach. This is it, she thought numbly, feeling as though every bone in her body were being ground to a pulp. I am going to die.