The View from Rockriver Hill

 I am excited to announce that my short story, "Dusk Falls" won third place in the 2024 CBU Alumni Creative Writing Competition!  My certificate came with a lovely gift basket full of CBU merchandise including a hat, water-bottle, and even some lancer socks!  If you'd like to read a copy of the winning piece, here it is!    Dusk Falls By Sandra Rose Hughes                 The sun had long since sunk over the horizon and its residual light faded quickly. Electric lights turned on throughout the camp like pinpricks of light blazing in the black landscape. Rihanna reached inside her backpack to pull out the plastic leather sensory helmet, but her fingers grabbed only air. With a growing sense of terror, Rihanna fumbled around in the pack. There was a hole in the bottom, more than large enough for a helmet to slip through at any point during their trek on the long, bumpy trail. No- this couldn't be happening. It must be somewhere in her supplies. She shook out her b