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 * The history of video games**

by: Michael Sharclane

Do you play Xbox 360? How about Playstation 3? Do you know the history of video games? I will tell you.

More than fifty years ago, before either arcades or home video games, visitors waited in line at Brookhaven National Laboratory to play “Tennis for Two,” an electronic tennis game that was the first version of the modern video games.

Tennis for Two was first introduced on October 18, 1958, at one of the Lab’s annual visitors’ days. Two people played the electronic tennis game with separate controllers that connected to an analog computer and used an oscilloscope for a screen. The first commercially sold ivideo game was Computer space in 1971.

My Historical Fiction Story Preface Did you know that there were slaves and slave owners in America in 1860? You might have heard that people in the north part of the country didn't believe in slavery, but did you know that the South fought hard to keep slaves? The slaves' free work made the slave owners rich. **__What is the historical setting for this story?__** My story is a historical fiction that show's the life of a slave girl from South Carolina, who tried to escape from her owners’ plantation in 1860. **__What is true in this story?__** It is true that there were slaves in South Carolina. It is true that if they ran away they would get whipped. It is true that if someone ran away some slaves would help. **__What is fictional in this story?__** I made up the characters. I gave them feelings and thoughts. I made them run away. I made them hurt other people. The historical fiction you are about to read will tell you a story of a slave girl from the South who tried to escape from her owners. **__If you want to read MORE about these topics, I used these sources for my story:__** "Slavery pictures" Accessed February 14, www.sonofthesouth.net/Slavery_Pictures_.htm "Slavery In The Civil War Era**"** Accessed February 14, www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm **"** South Carolina - African-Americans - Slave Population**"** Accessed February 14, www.sci way.net/afam/slavery/population.HTML

__Caught__ By Michael Sharclane Someone was shooting from far away, somewhere around the house. You could hear screaming. I went to a bush and started to cry, but after awhile I stopped crying. I started to walk away. People were following me, so I ran and I tripped. I tried to get up and run, but I got caught. They started to beat me with sticks and rocks, and then someone walked over and started to whip me.

My name is Sally. I live in South Carolina. I hate being a slave. I tried to escape twice, but they caught me, and gave me 100 lashes. When that happened to me I was bleeding, I was sore. It hurt like someone shot me with a lot of bullets. I guess I have to try to escape again. I just hope that I won't get caught again.

I hate getting caught. I'm 16 and I get whipped all the time. There are only a few more weeks until my birthday. I'm going to be 17, and I don't think they will celebrate my birthday. My life is pretty miserable. That's why I try to find safe places to get away from here. Some slaves would rather die than be here. Sometimes I feel I want to be free with them. One day I sneaked to my friends and said: “We shall go at sundown.” So once the sun went down, we made a run for it. There was no plan; we just heard that there were people that can help runaway slaves.

Five hours later we got far, well not that far, when I saw a house. The light in front of it was lit. I hope it was safe to go in, so we tiptoed there. We had some food, stayed for the night. I walked passed by the hallway mirror and I saw my own reflection. I couldn’t believe that this dark eyed girl with the serious look on her chocolate colored face was me. I was shivering in my cold warn clothes that were old torn and wet. There was mud in my short, curly hair so I washed it off. Well, we didn't leave right away. After we had some more food and left, we heard guard dogs barking. We jumped into a ditch and disguised ourselves in mud. While we sat in there, I remembered my parents when they were alive.

About a month ago my parents and I decided to run away for the first time. We saw a house, where the light was lit. We ran there and asked if we can stay there for the night. “Can we stay here for the night?” I asked the white women, who answered the door. She had a sweaty face, she looked nervous. “Can we, please, stay here for the night? “I asked again. My parents stood there in the cold, shivering. "I'm afraid I might get caught," the white women mumbled. She looked like a ghost. "Huh, you wont get caught, I promise!" We were eating dinner in our hiding place that night when some men broke in. The guards came and asked the lady if there were any slaves in her place. She mumbled “No”, and got sweaty. "Are you going to cry?” yelled the guard, so the women gave us away. The guard started shooting at me. While the others ran, I saw a bright light. I heard my mom’s voice, and then the bright light went away. Just that moment the guard shot my ankle. I passed out. The guards took us back to the plantation. A few days later my parents were dead. My mom died from a very bad sickness, and my dad was shot to death. This second time that we were running away, my friends and I sat there in the ditch, and whispered to each other. We didn't know what to do next. “I am with you guys, trying to escape. Now let’s not get our hopes up on getting caught”. The guard dogs left, but a dog heard us and turned around. As they chased us, we ran into the woods. Someone was shooting from far away, somewhere around the house. You could hear screaming. I went to a bush and started to cry, but after awhile I stopped crying. I started to walk away. People were following me, so I ran and I tripped. I tried to get up and run, but I they caught me.