These entries from October's challenge were selected as Honorable Mentions. Those who completed this challenge are now encouraged to share their stories in the comments section of the "October Writing Challenge."
Molly Pitt
15
UK
Knowing this was a terrible idea from the moment it was brought up clearly didn’t stop me from going through with it. Connor thought it’d be fun, interesting. An adventure! I vaguely agreed with him then, and I don’t whatsoever now that we are doing it.
Floorboards creak underfoot as we make our way down the pitch-black corridor. Our only source of light comes from the torch Connor clutches, but even that light seems to be swallowed by the void of darkness before us. We leave footprints in the dust as we go, a clear indication that we are the first in here for quite some time. For me, that means we definitely shouldn’t be here; however, according to Connor, that is the exact reason we should be here.
“It’s super cool!” he exclaims, shining the flashlight in my eyes. “The last person to come in here could have been thousands of years old by now, and we’re next in line. That’s so awesome!”
“Your complete and utter enthusiasm for something so stupid and terrifying is admirable,” I state, turning my nose up at the sight of a cobweb looping down from a chandelier, wax melted and hardened in place atop it.
“Thanks,” he says, sounding rather chuffed, swinging the flashlight around to get a full view of our surroundings. It doesn’t show much.
“I was being sarcastic,” I begin, wanting to say more, but I’m stopped by an eerie creaking sound.
Instinctively, I move closer to Connor, reaching out and wrapping my hands around his arm. His muscles are tense under my fingertips, exposing his unease about the suspicious sound.
“I’m sure it was nothing,” he tries. “Probably us.”
Neither of us believe him.
Suddenly, the sound of something stomping rhythmically at the end of the hallway can be heard, heading towards us. It comes from within the darkness, getting louder and closer with each passing second. The room seems to get colder.
From the midst of the darkness, a grotesque creature begins to form. It’s so clearly not human, but its form has hints of what once could have been a human body. Disfigured hands, strange stumps for legs, and gangly sticks for arms.
It has a head too, but I can barely bring myself to look at its face; a sinister expression plastered there, pure evil residing in its eyes.
“Who are you?” Connor stammers out, taking slow steps backwards.
“Run,” I whisper in his ear, the sinister look of the creature staying, unwavering, eyes trained on us like a predator on its prey.
‘We need to go,’ my mind screams, causing me to start stumbling backwards, pulling Connor with me. At first he stays locked in fear but soon starts moving too. The creature, however, begins to move at the same pace as us, pursuing.
Breaking into a dead sprint, we try to out run it. But there’s no use. An overwhelming sense of dread makes me feel sick to my stomach as a raspy voice speaks out over the sound of our footsteps.
“You will not escape me.”
Aaliya Shah
15
India
Hidden in the Shadows
She looked so perfect, as if she were a dream. To some she looked as if she were a fairytale come true. No one knew who she was, but they all wanted to.
Her eyes were a deep blue; they looked like a maze. If someone were to look into them, they’d get lost. Her hair was a beautiful tangle of black. Her lips were as red as blood, and her skin was as white as milk. She sung like a nightingale.
Everyone wanted to be her. Everyone wanted to know her. Little did they know she liked it when she was left alone. She liked it when she used to hide under her red cape and no one would notice her, no one would stop to tell her that no matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t going to fit in, she wasn’t going to be one of them. Little did they know she didn’t want to be “one of them.”
All she wanted to do was hide. Her cape fell down, and someone saw her. She lost her cape. She lost herself. She didn’t want to be seen. She liked the solace. She liked to listen to the sounds of the forest while everyone else liked to listen to the sound of their phones pinging.
Little did they know they had fallen in love with a dream.
Little did they know they had fallen for a shadow.
Little did they know she liked living.
Little did they know if she were left alone, she probably would be more than something you could see through.
Little did she know that she would become exactly like they saw her.
Anika
15
USA
“She was very strange compared to the other girls at school. Her hair was cut short, for one thing, so short that all you could see were little blond and blue tufts. She’s terribly short, only around five foot five, I think? Everyone was towering over her; honestly it was quite embarrassing.”
“There’s got to be more to this girl than her looks.”
“Well, of course, but her looks were a rather noticeable part. She’s got pupils, for God’s sake. But you’re right, her personality was just as strange. It’s as if she thought she could just talk to anyone and get away with it. I heard that during Bio, she tried to talk to a daemon. Honestly, how clueless could someone be?”
“Talking to a daemon. Strange indeed. What else did she do?”
“She tried to joke around with a faerie, which was hilarious to watch. I mean, you should have seen the look on Harinth’s face when the girl even approached her. Caught her completely off guard. And this girl-“
“Do you know her name, by any chance?”
“What? Oh, I think it was Hartely? Harley — Holly, that’s what it was, Holly. Anyway, Holly was staring at Lucas’ tail for a good five minutes before he finally bared his teeth. It’s obvious she won’t be doing that again any time soon.”
“Why’d they even bring her here? What was the point?”
“To Hell if I know. I hear her dad’s the Communecator, though, so that might be why. Trying to integrate us, I guess?”
“She’ll have her blood drained by the end of the week.”
“No, even Clarisse wouldn’t try that. No one’s going to mess with the Communecator’s little girl. I’m sure Devon will prank her, though. Maybe I’ll even get in on it if I have the time. I’d love to hear a little human scream.”