No Bounds Options

[likeachild]

i wrote this story in 8th grade
it was an english assignment...

i know it could use some improvement...

any suggestions?

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NO BOUNDS-A story of selfless love

Jon staggered into the room, part of him still questioning the authenticity of the events that had happened several hours ago. His mind spun as he tried to understand. Then, as he recounted the events to the counselors in charge, Jon began to cry. He sobbed and shook uncontrollably as he told his story.

It was summer already, and freshman year in high school had just ended. Excited as he was, by the middle of the season, Jon was already bored to death. He had done the same things so many times that he was almost sick of all of it. Jon was sitting in front of his television, channel-surfing lazily on one of those “boring” days when the phone rang.

“Hello?” Jon yawned as he picked up the phone.
“Hey Jon, it’s me, Shawn”, was the response.
“Shawn? What are you calling me for?” Jon inquired.

Jon did not know Shawn very well, and the only times they ever talked were during class. To Jon, Shawn was just a mysterious person who went to church. He knew because Shawn had invited him on many occasions. Jon always politely declined, however.

“Hey, you still there, or did you fall asleep already?” Shawn asked sarcastically.

Jon snapped to his senses. After vegetating for so long, his mind was currently not in the right state. In addition to that, he was still partly thinking about what Shawn would call him for.

“Yeah I am. Sorry”, Jon replied.
“No problem. Anyways, I have something really cool I have to tell you about”, Shawn said enthusiastically.

Jon listened as Shawn explained how his church was taking a group of sixty boys to the Sierras. They were each challenged with the task of inviting somebody that was not a Christian and bringing them along. “It won’t be boring at all”, Shawn had said, “In fact, we’re going to be swimming, mountain climbing, rappelling—we’ll have lots of fun. Just think about it dude, ten whole days in the mountains, away from your everyday life. That’s what this trip is designed to be—it’ll will challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and push yourself farther then you ever thought possible. You’ll develop character, learn to overcome weaknesses, and discover new strengths. I can personally guarantee that if you don’t come along your entire summer will be wasted. You want to go on this trip, right?”


Jon thought for a moment as he weighed his options. He could either stay at home and kill time, or go on this trip, try something new for a change, and have some fun. Of course Jon chose the latter.

“I need to get in shape anyways”, he thought, “Lying on a sofa all day eating junk food is not very healthy”.

“Sure”, Jon answered.

He told his parents, who were in complete agreement, and before he knew it, Jon was already in the mountains, trudging along the trail with a fifty-pound backpack on his shoulders. It held his sleeping bag and clothes, among other accessories.

Before they started out, everybody was divided into groups of twelve, including two counselors trained in first aid. They were also paired up with a climbing partner, and Jon was lucky to be partnered with Shawn.

Shawn had changed during the summer, Jon observed. Now five feet and seven inches, he was one inch taller than Jon. Jon’s friend also seemed more friendly and outgoing than before.

“You holding up all right?” Shawn asked.
“I’m doing fine”, Jon replied.

The twelve man group that the two boys were a part of was headed towards a point over two miles away. That was where camp was to be set up. They had only hiked for about thirty minutes, but Jon was aching already.

“I have to get out and do this stuff more often”, he thought to himself.

As Jon continued on, he remembered what the head counselor had said before the group had started out.

“Let me give it to you plain and simple. This trail is tough and there’s no getting around it. In the ten days that this trip will take, there will be times when you feel like you want to give up, times when you are so worn out, your mind and body are screaming at you, telling you they cannot go on. You have to follow your heart, not your brain. You need two things on this expedition: courage and perseverance. Courage will get you past how hard it seems, and perseverance will get you through how hard it really is. On your journey to the top of this mountain, remember that you cannot yield to your weaknesses. You must overcome them. Fix your eyes on the goal and press on. You have to push yourself farther then you ever thought possible, and then some. Sometimes you’ll hate it and sometime you’ll love it, but in the end, you’ll be glad you did it.”

Jon laughed weakly as he remembered that those were the same words Shawn had said when he invited him to this trip. It had only been a few days ago, but so far, Jon felt that he had been on the trail for an eternity.

He brought the counselor’s words back into his tired mind and decided to try it. Jon looked at the top of the mountain they were ascending and imagined what it would be like to stand on top of it.

Two miles later, the group reached the place where they would sleep for the night. It was not dark yet, so they had some free time. Jon remembered that he was supposed to take some pictures to bring home so he found Shawn and asked him to join him. They had to have a buddy with them at all times for safety reasons. Shawn agreed to go with Jon, but warned him to save film for when they got to the mountain’s almost fourteen thousand foot summit. He said that the best was yet to come. Soon, they heard a loud bell ringing. It was followed by three whistles, two short and one long, signaling that dinner was about to start.

Everyone was starving, the fact clearly evident as they ran at full speed, trying to get to the food first. After receiving their meal, they tore into it ravenously, cramming their mouths full of the beef patties and mashed potatoes.

After dinner, Jon and Shawn gathered around the campfire, warming themselves up. The temperature dropped quickly with the sunset, and in the mountains, the wind chill was multiplied greatly.

Jon clutched his cup of hot chocolate and sipped it, enjoying the warming sensation that spread throughout his burned out body. The people were gathered together to hear a message from the head counselor again.

“I want to share something with you guys,” he declared.
“I am going to read you this passage”, he continued, “It’s from first John chapter three. ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. …Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.’”

The counselor paused for a moment, and began again, “Remember what I said before we started on the trail? For those of you who weren’t paying attention, I said that the two things you needed on this expedition were courage and perseverance. The same is true on loving each other. Keep them in your mind—courage and perseverance are important.”

Jon pondered those words as he brushed his teeth, “Hmm… Maybe I’ll try to show some more kindness to people.”

For Shawn, however, the impact was much greater.

“I vow that from now on, I will be willing to give up my life for any of you guys”, he declared, “I don’t care what it takes or how hard it will be—I’m going to do it no matter what happens!”

Jon was getting ready to sleep, along with the three other guys in the four-man tent. They crawled into their own sleeping bags, sleeping away the weariness and replacing it with the anxiety of the next day.

Another day fades away into darkness…











Jon awoke bright and early the next morning, roused by a familiar round of bell ringing and whistle blowing. This time, it was one long and two short, signaling the start of breakfast.

Breakfast was a cheese omelette and dried fruit. Jon put a generous amount of pepper on his eggs to make them spicy.spice them upadd flavor.

There was a short gathering after the morning meal, during which the counselors explained the activities for the day. They were going to learn how to orienteer, or learn how to use a compass and a map to navigate. The counselor explained how the teams would be split in half, and each half would hike to a certain location. Then, they would have to find an alternate trail leading to the meeting point where the entire group would join together and have lunch. Afterwards, they would swim in a lake. Jon could feel that it was going to be a fun day.

After a quick explanation, the groups separated and went in different directions for a more detailed tutorial. Learning how to orienteer was not a particularly difficult task, and Jon’s group was on the trail within fifteen minutes, hiking towards their assigned designated location.

The “navigation” part of the journey was fairly easy. Hiking Getting to their the appointed location, however, tested their patience and stimulated doubt as to whether they the group would miss their arrival deadline of twelve noon.

The trek to towards their final destination seemed to get harderincrease in difficulty as they got closerapproached their goalobjective. The trail became harder to maneuver, with parts of it overgrown and choked with vegetation. Rocks Small rocks and weeds betrayed footing, while tree branches and leaves extendingprojecting outwards at erratic angles grabbed at backpacks. In addition to all of that, as noon got closer, the sun had almost risen to its highest point in the sky. started building up Now that it had built up to its maximum power, itand was now beating down on the weary hikers with full force.

After nearly sixty minutes of non-stop traveling, the stubborn trail gave way to a clearing. There was a definite gasp of relief as Jon and his fellow companions realized that they had made it.

After catching their breath and wiping the sweat from their eyes, they found a cool spot in the shade to cook and eat lunch.

Some of the boys helped the counselors prepare lunch, while others anxiously awaited the arrivalwaited for the second group to appear. Some were ready to brag about the fact that they were the first ones to complete the strenuous journeytrail.

Soon, the second group arrived, sweating, and worn out. Like Jon’s group, they also needed to catch their breath. found spots in the shade to wait while the food cooked.

Eating a delicious lunch of corn bread and chili improved morale. After the meal, there was another small gathering during which the counselors announced that they would all descend an easier trail to reach a medium sized lake well suited for swimming. Spirits were lifted as and sleeping bags were rolled out and used as cover for changing.


Shouts of joy and loud whooping followed the group of excited boys down the trail and into the lake. There were loud splashes as a few of them performed cannon balls and dives into the clear blue water of the lake.

The backpackers crawled out of the lake half an hour later, refreshed, renewed, and ready for more. After changing back into hiking gear, the boys gathered yet another time.

The counselors told the group about their activities for the day. First, they would do some more hiking, this time up a short trail. The trail would lead the team to a small mountain. With the mountain as their classroom, they would learn to mountain climb in preparation for the next day, when they would start the ascent up the highest mountain.

“Hook up with your climbing buddy”, the counselor shouted as the crowd started dispersing.

Jon found Shawn right away, and they started up the trail along with the other five two-man groups. Excited chatter accompanied the boys as they marched up the dusty trail, dusty and littered with pebbles.

Jon had never climbed before, and neither had Shawn. This would be a new thing for both of them.

When they finally reached the end of the trail, they were met with a fifty-foot wall of ancient granite, pale grey and weather-beaten from years of enduring the elements. Jon and his climbing buddy listened intently as the counselors explained taught them how to climb the steep rock face.

“Every time you climb, you will have a belayer”, the man began, “The belayer will be your climbing buddy and he will hold the rope that your harness is tied tosecuring your harness. You are responsible for each other’s safety.

Jon watched as the counselors demonstrated showed an example by climbing the rock wallgranite cliff. The demonstration went smoothly and the entire group applauded as climber s feet finally touched the groundrappelled down, his feet landing with a thump on the dirt landingground.

Everyone was given a chance to climb the flat stone façade and when nobody was left, the teams proceeded down the trail, headed back towards camp.

Some free time and a dinner of spaghetti finished off the day. After brushing their teeth, the boys retreated to their tents, resting in preparation for the intensive climb the next day. Some of them played cards under the illumination of special flashlights that required no batteries. and Others ate freeze-dried ice cream and socialized as they waited for the lights out bell.



Another blink in the eye of time…




Jon woke up the next morning, excited and curious about the oncoming trek up the mountain. A hearty breakfast of johnnycakes with honey and cold milk started off the day.

Each twelve man team would tackle a different side of the mountain. It would be a race to the top. All five trails were about the same length, so it would be a fair competition.

Jon started up with so much energy it seemed like he was going tocould sprint up the mountain instantlyeffortlessly. However, the hike to the mountain’s peak was long and arduous. The prize that was sought would not be easy to obtain.

Like the sun, the mountain and all the plants attached to it showed no mercy for the puny humans striving desperately to reach for the highest point.summit. It seemed like the rocks were purposely arranged to cause feet to slip, and holes and bumps placed in the trail to trip sprain unsuspecting feetankles.

Miraculously, feet were moved at the last second, avoiding the deadly traps set for them. No matter what the great mountain threw at them, every boy in the group successfully overcame it.

Finally, the prize was almost within reach. The weary team could see the snow-capped tip of the mountain peeking up from behind a steep rock face, similar to the one that the counselors had used to teach the teams their lesson on how to rock climb. The only exception was that the one they were now facing was stood almost one hundred fifty feet hightall.

Standing at the foot of the steep granite wall, Jon wondered how he would be able to climb the cliff. His thoughts were interrupted by one of the counselors, who had started addressing the group.

“Okay guys, you have to decide who wants to climb to the top first. After your partner gets across this obstacle, you will climb it after him. A new belayer will help you on your climb. The first person to the top will be counselor Bill. I will belay him, and when he reaches the top, he will assist you as you climb up after him. I will also belay the last person left. When all of you have made it, I will hike the longer way up on the trail, since I will not have a belayer. While you wait for me, you will prepare dinnercan relax or help Bill with the dinner”, the counselor said.

Jon and Shawn ended up having to go last. Soon, there were only three people left at the base of the giant stone façade: Jon, Shawn, and the last counselor.

“Uh…can you excuse me for a minute boys?” the counselor asked, “Nature calls. I’m sure you’ll do fine though. I’ll only be gone for a few minutes.”

“Sure…” Jon said hesitantly.

“Belay on”, Jon said, initiating the safety agreement binding him and Shawn together in the climb.
“On belay”, Shawn replied confidently.

“Climbing”, Jon said, taking a deep breath.
“Climb on”, Shawn responded.
“Here goes nothing”, Jon thought as he looked for a way up the almost completely impossibly steep vertical rock face.

A particularly rotten tree leaned over the edge, as if it were about to fall. Loose rocks were on the very edge of rolling over and causing a major rockslide.

Jon spied a large crack and went for it. He grabbed it with his hands and smeared his feet against the wall, trying to get a foothold. Suddenly, he realized the “crack” he was holding onto was really a loose rock protruding out of the smooth granite face. Fear gripped him as he froze in terror. Without warning, the piece of rock jerked and made a horrible grinding sound as it slowly slipped out.

His handhold gone, Jon swung around wildly on his rope, banging into the granite. Fortunately, he was able to use his legs to absorb most of the damage. Shawn had done a good job steadying him.

During the crazy swinging, the rope brushed against the rotten tree. It made a creaking sound as it leaned over even more. Small pebbles fell over the edge.

“You all right?” Shawn asked, concerned for his friend’s safety.
“Yeah”, Jon said, breathing out a sigh of relief.

His sweaty hands reached up and continued searching for crevices that he could use to pull himself up. Jon’s heart pounded as he lightly tested a newfound fissure in the rock to see if it could hold him.

Meanwhile, the counselor cried out as he slipped. His face was twisted with pain as he slid down the slope, a twisted ankle dragging along under him. Thirty feet later, his vision exploded with stars as his head smashed into a tree. He rolled a few inches before coming to a stop at its base, unconscious.

Inch by inch, Jon slowly ascended the hard stone face, grabbing at small ledges. Shawn took the slack out of the belay rope with Jon’s every upward motion.

A gust of wind rustled the leaves in the rotten tree and some of them drifted down. The tree leaned an imperceptible amount. Larger pebbles rolled over the edge. A minute crack appeared in the tree’s trunk.

Jon slowed his pace to rest his aching muscles before continuing.

The crack got bigger.

“Whew”, Jon breathed when he finally grabbed the edge of the cliff.

The crack ran up the tree, almost splitting it in half.

Jon dragged his weary body up.

There was a loud crack as the tree split completely and the separate pieces rolled down.

Jon shouted in pain as one of the heavy wooden pieces smashed his fingers, forcing him to release his grip.
Rocks were raining down now, not just little pebbles, but heavy rocks with enough weight enough to kill.

Shawn looked on in horror as the entire cliff side seemed to fall apart. Time seemed to slow down as Shawn tried to comprehend the situation. Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours.

“This can’t be happening!” Shawn thought as he looked at his friend, supported only by the belay rope Shawn was clutching.

Deadly chunks of solid rock rained down. Shawn had to decide quickly.

He could imagine what would happen if he tried to save his own life. He saw himself letting go of the rope and running to safety. Then, he saw Jon’s body flipping and spinning as it crashed off boulders and ledges like a rag doll. It slammed into the hard-packed dirt trail, sliced and bruised by sharp rocks. Facedown in a tangled mess, more rocks piled on top of him, crushing him to death.

Shawn imagined what would happen his he saved his friend’s life. He saw himself holding the rope, pulling with all his might as his friend scrambled to safety. Then, he saw himself meeting the same fate as his friend.

More rocks fell.

Jon was already bleeding from scrapes and cuts. If Shawn didn’t act, both of them would be killed.

He examined his options in his mind again.

It was his life or Jon’s. He had to decide.

Shawn searched his brain. Where would he go if he died? He knew the answer to that question. Where would Jon go? He knew the answer to that also.

Shawn had already made up his mind. He knew that his decision would not just save his friend’s life, it would save his soul for all of eternity.

Shawn closed his eyes and held on tight.

Jon quickly scrambled up the side of the cliff, the entire rock face crumbling into bits behind him. Time seemed to stop for him too as he stared out into the horizon, tears dropping from his face.

Everything else faded away, the voices of the other boys, the sound of the last rocks falling, the frantic whistling of the counselor—he could not hear them anymore.

It was all because of Shawn’s sacrifice. The death of his friend had brought him life. He finally tasted and understood what true love was. It was a love where everything would else seem like hate when compared to it. It was a kindness with no bounds.


“What is truth?” Jon asked, as he finished his story. As it was explained to him, it all clicked together. That summer, Jon made the biggest and best decision he could ever make.

Like a fading whisper, the verses echoed faintly in Jon’s mind, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers…let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”