Soar to Fall, Below to Above

Amanda lived in a dingy old apartment squished between two loud neighbors. The ceiling always shouted and the floor radiated music louder than an air raid siren. But it was comfortable. Comfort was the only thing Amanda knew, really. She lived off of a large sum of inherited money. But being a bit of a paranoid person, she kept this knowledge to herself. Amanda wasn't known to be boastful in any way. Rather, she was much more a quiet woman who kept to herself. She focused on staying silent to being showered with fame. For what reason would she be praised? She had only inherited the money from her father. She had not done anything of importance. So, Amanda lacked social skills from the minimal amount of human interaction she had experienced in her lifetime. Her father told her this was a mindless, wasteful way to live her life. Amanda did not care. She kept quiet.

//

Man To Live In The Sahara Desert Alone For A Month

Hector Gallagher, 26, accepted a bet with a local bartender to spend an entire month in the Sahara desert alone without help from anyone. This anonymous yet wealthy bartender has offered all of his life's savings to Gallagher if he were to survive the month alone. Gallagher himself has stated that he is "not doing so great" in his current financial state. If he were to win the bet, Gallagher would be lifted from near-homelessness to having several million dollars at his disposal. Gallagher is to leave for the Sahara on the 21st of August this year- five days from now.

//

Amanda crossed a day off of her calendar, removing the eighteenth day of August from the group of remaining days yet to come. Another day to do... Do what? Amanda had no plans for any day or point in her life at all- Her existence was a blank chalkboard tossed into a junkyard with its corresponding sticks of chalk. Her father had told her to leave her apartment and do something of importance, but Amanda had sighed and hissed some sort of snarky response back to him. Maybe she would do as he said. Later.

At the current moment her mind was a frustrated mess of inactivity wishing to take to the skies. But she refused to fly when all the other birds soared above, chirping happily. With a growly sigh she sat up and grabbed her jacket from off of one of the chairs in the room. Amanda slipped into it, and brushed her hair down with her fingers until it looked somewhat socially acceptable. She had bent to the will of her father and obeyed reluctantly. But she would not forget that she herself did not want to do any of this.

//

Online Groups Rage Over The "Saharan Suicide"

The public's opinion on Hector Gallagher's bet with the formerly anonymous bartender, James Reyna, seems to be mostly negative, but the bar. Although risky, Hector has confidence in himself to finish the monthlong challenge. Online, however, more and more people seem to be quite upset about the bet. Groups of people have come together to put down Hector by sending his social media accounts hateful messages and deeming his journey the "Saharan Suicide". But Hector has stated that he is "gonna ignore that, 'cause it's just words."

//

It's easy to be quiet when everything around you is loud and self-absorbed. Amanda huffed. The city was so loud and all the people here were so selfish. How can every single one of these people be focused on themselves and themselves only? To Amanda, it felt like each person resided in their own little life-terrarium. No one noticed one another. It was quite odd and disgusting, Amanda thought.

She strolled through the city with hunched-over posture, hands in her pockets, with the jacket covering the top half of her face. So it was a bit of a surprise when someone called out her name. Amanda whipped around, now standing straight and looking directly at the source of the voice with utmost hatred.

"Amanda... Reyna?" The person asked. It was no one she knew, and Amanda could tell this person had recognized her from one of the magazines about her father's life or something of the sort.

"If you're looking for my dad, he's not here," she snapped.

The person mumbled an, "Oh," and turned around. Amanda watched them stroll down the sidewalk and merge back into the mob that was society. She scoffed and kept walking through the city with aimless intent. People were so strange. Couldn't the person see that her dad was not with her? How stupid. Stupid, stupid. So, so very stupid. But she would be lying if she said that she was not extremely giddy from being recognized. It was so exciting, and oh so enjoyable. Amanda contemplated leeching off of her father's success in order to gain a following. A following? From what?

//

Hector Gallagher Begins His End of Renya's Bet

Yesterday at 7:00 AM, Hector Gallagher wished his family and friends goodbye and set off to the desert on a private jet, courtesy of Renya. He has also given Gallagher a pack of supplies that should last a week before he would have to find his own food and drink. Thankfully, Renya was also kind enough to give Gallagher a few tools for survival. As of today, he has departed for the desert and is now out of sight. We wish him luck on his journey

\\

Hector Gallagher almost immediately regretted accepting the bet. This bet. The backpack's straps clung to him with the strength of an orangutan as he walked through the desert, but it felt oh so light compared to the mental stress he carried with him through the land. Was this really worth a million dollars? Was a human life really worth so much? What would happen if he died in this place? Nervousness flooded his body, propelling Hector forward with newfound strength. He ran and sand flew up around him from the speed of his steps. Sand stuffed itself into his tennis shoes and into the corners of his eyes. Hector was sure it had made a home for itself in his hair as well. He had been told there were oases and villages scattered about the Sahara, but all Hector could see were a few great arching rock forms and miles upon miles of bare sand. 

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James Renya's Daughter Rises To Fame Online

Amanda Renya, child of famous actor and current bartender James Renya, has become quite popular on the Internet by posting short videos of her telling her life's stories. This may not seem like much, but Amanda narrates in an expressive way like no other, thus resulting in the thousands who watch her content daily. All of these factors coupled with the slight promotion from her father has resulted in the girl's great success.

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There was no water. No drink. Dehydration consumed Hector's entire being. He craved it. He needed it. He didn't care for the sun's rise or set. He didn't care for the burning sand scorching his entire being. He wandered for what felt like a few days' time before Hector stumbled upon a cliff that rose up and jutted out to create some shade below. The stone below the cliff was surprisingly cooler than the sand of the desert, so Hector began to sit down. But as he did he felt something grasp the tips of his pants and pull with the natural weight of gravity. His pants were now uncomfortable. Hector felt the affected area and found that he had nearly sat on a small pool of water. Needless to say, he began to drink from it with slight feral movement. Human necessity is sometimes a hindrance.

Now, Hector sat against the cliff's underside for a moment to collect his thoughts. But it was hard to think when his body craved sustenance. He needed to find food. It had been several days, he assumed, since he had eaten.

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Renya Child Gains A Large Cult Following

Recently, many more people have come to become fond of Amanda Renya's short story videos. Because of this, Amanda has decided to begin telling these stories live. Nearly a million people have come to enjoy her work. Although Amanda is very popular, she refuses to accept money for these things. We have yet to know why this is the case, but some suspect it is because Amanda simply enjoys the attention.

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The goat with curved horns was perched on a rocky ledge, high above Hector. He held a knife in his left hand. His right hand was currently being used to support his weight so he could lean against the side of a rock face. Hector was positioned in such a way that the goat could not see him, but he could see it.

Hector silently formulated a plan in his head, nodded to himself, and leapt forth. Up the rock he climbed, and the goat flicked an ear upwards and turned its head in his direction. It was too late for this, though, because Hector was now above the goat. He leapt upon the creature and apologized quickly before murdering the animal.

...

He had killed something. Hector looked down at the creature and flinched. Now he had to find a way to eat this thing.

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Amanda Renya's Murder

Famous Internet sensation, Amanda Renya, has passed away by human force at the age of nineteen. The police do not have much of an idea of what happened, but they have informed us that this occurred during one of her livestreams. In the middle of her storytelling, Amanda's home was broken into and viewers of this live video were unfortunately forced into hearing the girl's screams from the other room as she was murdered.

We send our utmost sympathies to James Renya for the loss of his only daughter. We hope he will recover from this well.

\\

There was a whirring noise. It called to him from above. It buzzed its words into his mind and woke Hector from his sleep. He sat, dirty and tired under the cliff. He crawled out a bit and then he saw it. A helicopter. The helicopter. He was free from the sands. He had survived the month.

The rest was a blur to him, but he remembered being interviewed by a newsperson on the helicopter as they flew back to the United States. She asked him questions he couldn't remember and he answered appropriately. Hector didn't really care that the news and world were watching his every move at that moment. No, he was just happy that he had survived. He had won the bet. With a smile, he laid his head back and closed his eyes.