Winner--"Autumn Short Story Contest" by Joshua (Published October 2022)
It was October 31, 2017. Marika trudged through the thick foliage of Drouh forest, a place famous for the colors of its leaves. And Marika could see why. Brilliant colors of orange, red, and yellow filled the branches above her. She raised her digital camera and snapped a picture of the view. She wore jeans, black hiking boots, and a gray sweatshirt that said, ‘who lit the black flame candle?’ on it. Over her deep brown hair was a black beanie, because it was just forty-five degrees today. Her breath came out in mist when she exhaled.
Her camera hung at her side, and she had a rucksack slung over her back, carrying a granola bar and bottle of water. Leaves were driing to the ground lazily. Red-brown colors already covered the forest.
Marika came across a steep hill, maybe maybe fieen feet tall. Roots jutted out in places, making good handholds. She grabbed a root with both hands and heaved her one foot onto it. She took hold of the next root, but her le foot slipped on some leaves and tumbled down the hill. Her mouth hit a rock, and blood trickled down her chin. Her mouth filled with a coppery liquid. She spat the blood out. Ugh. She wiped it with her sleeve and tried again. This hill would have the best view for pictures!
On the second attempt, she made it all the way up the hill. Marika was now on flat ground. In front of her was a huge rusted gate, attached to crumbling stone walls. Moss covered these walls, and vines trailed through the gate. Beyond the slats in the wrought-iron were. . . Well, Marika couldn’t see what was beyond it, because the inside of the enclosure was blanketed in a thick mist. She stepped forward, not sure whether to scale the gate or turn back. Pretty much every alarm in her brain was being set off. Her heart pounded in her chest.
Curiosity overcame fear, and she placed her foot onto the lowest horizontal slat. This would make for a great picture for Halloween! In less than ten seconds, she was over on the other side of the gate. Closer, she could see that stones of various sizes were half buried in the yard. She crouched down to inspect one.
Elizabeth E. Linfield
1627- 1641
She now treads the golden roads of Heaven,
And looks into the smiling face of God.
Oh, my God, she thought. This is a cemetery! A chill traveled down her spine. What was a graveyard doing in the middle of the woods? She had a sudden and foreboding feeling that she was being watched. Marika stepped as quietly as she could to the center of the yard, where the largest headstone was. On the large stone platform was a statue of a skeletal figure in heavy flowing robes.
The skeleton was holding two things in its hands. In its right: a six foot long scythe. In its le hand, a withering rose. She was sure she would have nightmares about it. On the stone platform, there were some strange engravings. In the corner of her eye, the letters seemed to morph, but when she looked straight at them, they were fixed into the granite.
MaRiKa. ? .
Do YoU BeLiEvE iN gHoStS?
Dark smoke poured from the skeleton’s eye sockets like water, pooling at the leaf-covered forest floor. The smoke rose from the ground to form into a fairly humanoid shape, an ethereal aura surrounding it. Marika stumbled backwards and fell on her hands. The apparition dried towards her, muttering nonsense. Great Halloween, she thought. She clambered over the gate and fell on her back. The breath was knocked out of her, but she ignored it and half ran, half rolled down the hill.
Not real, not real notrealnotrealnotreal! Marika ran and ran but felt the cold air on her neck. She aimed her camera behind her without looking and took a picture. Suddenly, as if someone had cast a blanket over the sky, the sky went dark. Marika crouched down behind a tree and clenched her fists to stop them from trembling.
Silent tears streamed down her face. The muttering voice was getting closer, warping and fluctuating in pitch. Louder. . . Louder. . . A cold hand clamped down on her shoulder. Marika screamed.
.. .
Marika woke up in her bed in a cold sweat. Her camera was laying on her bedside stand, still on. She wiped her brow. It was just a dream. For no reason at all, she picked up her camera and clicked through her photos. Family photo. . . Her dog. . .
Her mouth went dry. A blurry photo was the most recent in her album.
Depicting a shadowy figure in a forest.
Winner--"Fall" by Allison (Published October 2022)
With a sigh, Bella flopped onto the ripped leather sofa like a pancake. A fog clogged her mind. All of her emotions dried up until she felt nothing. To make things worse, Bella’s body felt heavy; chains were pulling her to the ground. The thing is, she didn’t know how to shake them off.
I can’t do it anyways, she told herself, staring at the ceiling. Maybe I deserve to feel this crappy.
Without Bella noticing, her older sister—Alice— ambled into the room. Alice’s eyes were glued to her phone as her fingers danced along the screen.
“Dammit!” Alice spitted out, clutching her phone so hard it almost snapped. “He beat me again!”
When she got no response from her sister, Alice took her eyes off her phone. Glancing to her right, she caught sight of the corpse on the couch. Cracking a smile, Alice tip-toed over to Bella.
“Boo!” she shouted.
Alice’s smile melted when her sister didn’t flinch. Bella just stared past her.
“Hello?” Alice waved her hand in front of her sister’s face. “Anyone home?”
Letting out another sigh, Bella rolled over and buried her head into a pillow. Alice leaned
forward, hovering over her sister.
“What’s wrong?” Alice inquired. She poked her sister’s cheeks. “Won’t you tell me?” Bella didn’t have the energy to talk. Slumping her shoulders, Alice slipped away from the couch and sauntered away.
“Aunt May!” Alice screamed down the halls. “Bella is depressed!”
With a grunt, Bella rose slowly. Out of nowhere, vexation sprinted through her veins, painting her face red. The feeling cut through the fog in her mind. However, now her mind was going haywire. She couldn’t control her frustration.
“What are you doing?” Bella hissed. “Auntie May is resting.”
Alice shrugged. “You need some of Aunt May’s good soup of words.”
“No, I don’t!” Bella fumed. “So shut up!”
“Look at yourself, Bella,” Alice pointed out. “You need some cheer. Whenever I’m sad, I need Aunt May to put some sunshine into me.”
“Yeah,” Bella mumbled. “That’s you!”
Alice didn’t seem to hear her sister. Instead, she raised her voice. “Aunt May!”
“Ugh!” Bella slammed her body against the couch and shut her eyes.
Can’t people just leave me alone? Bella’s face scrunched up like a paper ball. Even Alice is just so annoying!
In the hallway, a door groaned while it swung open. Alice grinned while Bella moaned. “Who’s depressed?” Auntie May questioned, popping her head into the living room.
Immediately, Alice pointed at her sister. Auntie May frowned.
“My Bella bear,” Auntie May said, rushing over to the couch. “What’s wrong?”
Auntie May squatted on the carpet next to Bella. May tugged on her niece’s arm, but Bella’s body refused to face her aunt. Auntie May and Alice exchanged glances. Nodding, Alice slipped out of the room without a word.
“Is your sister annoying?” Auntie May asked Bella.
Silence bounced into the air.
She’s not going to do anything until I say something, Bella realized.
“No,” she finally told her aunt.
“Shame,” Auntie May said. “If it was me and your father, I’d say yes a million times.”
Bella sighed. With her heart shedding a tear, auntie May wrapped her arms around her niece. Her arms projected a refreshing breeze of love along Bella’s body, eating away all her anger. However, what was left in Bella’s body was emptiness and coldness. That made Bella’s heart tighten and her throat swell up.
I need to get out of here, Bella thought, gulping down a wave of sadness. Tears are going to wash over me soon.
“I’m fine, auntie,” Bella tried to assure her aunt. It was difficult to mask her quivering voice that trembled as if it was walking along an unstable beam.
Her aunt wasn’t dull.
“Let it out, Bell Bell,” she encouraged softly. “Let it ring.”
Unexpectedly, Bella choked and diamonds began dripping down her cheeks. She was always caught off guard every time her aunt referred to her as a bell. Together, Auntie May and Bella held hands, waiting for Bella’s tears to dry up.
Dang it, Bella exclaimed to herself as she wiped away her tears with her sleeves.
After a few long minutes, the tears had stopped pouring.
“Now are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” asked Auntie May.
Bella sighed and stared out the window.
“I’m not feeling good today,” she began. “I’ll be fine later.” “Bella,” Auntie May pushed. “What are you feeling?”
Bella bit her lip. She turned to look deep into her auntie’s eyes. They were watery with worry.
But what am I supposed to say? Bella asked herself. Why would I burden my aunt with my problems? How can I tell her that I feel crappy because I’m gaining weight and that my crush probably won’t like me anymore because of how ugly I look? How can I tell her that schoolwork feels so choking? How can I tell her that everyone hates me now and I have nobody to turn to? How can I tell her I’m utterly stupid sometimes and made dumb mistakes? I can’t bear to see how she’ll react.
“Tell me, sweetie,” Auntie May pleaded. “Please, it’s not good to bottle your feelings inside.”
All of a sudden, another tear fell off Bella’s face again. She hugged her body and wiped it away.
“I...I just,” Bella began. She took a deep breath and let it all pour out. “I just hate life. I feel so dumb. Everyone probably hates me and I feel so ugly. I hate my life. It just...sucks.”
Bella peeked a glance at her aunt, waiting for a response. Auntie May stared at her and nodded.
“Hey,” Auntie May said, letting go of Bella’s hand and standing up. “Let’s go outside.
Bella’s eyes widened. “Now?”
“Yes. C’mon.”
Before Bella knew it, the wind was screaming a greeting into her face as she stepped outside her house. She slipped on a hoodie, though that didn’t stop her face from turning into an ice cube. Auntie May led Bella down the driveway and began strolling along the sidewalk.
Bella breathed in the autumn season. Fluffy white clouds hastily flew overhead while the naked trees on the ground waved hello. All the brick houses in the neighborhood were drenched with Halloween decorations—smirking pumpkins, inflatable monsters, and flashing vivid orange and black lights. Still, the sight didn’t make Bella feel any happier. Rather, she still felt grey inside.
“Bella, what do you notice about the trees?” Auntie May questioned her niece, pointing somewhere.
Bella followed her aunt’s finger to two trees in front of a house. One tree was thin and short. The other tree was bulky and tall. Both of the trees were naked; their clothes were scattered around the floor.
“The leaves have fallen from the trees,” Bella observed.
“Yes,” smiled Aunt May. “Sweetie, have you ever felt like you’re falling?” “Huh?” Bella wondered aloud. “What are you talking about?”
Aimlessly, Aunt May slowed down to a halt. Bella stopped in front of her and spun around. “Bell, I know it may be hard, but listen closely. Will you do that for me?”
Bella nodded slowly.
“Good. Now you see those trees? Do you still think they’re beautiful?”
Bella gazed at the trees for a long moment.
“Well, they are more beautiful when they have leaves on them,” she muttered.
Aunt May smiled.
“Yes. The autumn months rip away the leaves to reveal an ugly side to these trees.
However, this side of the trees shows their true nature.”
“Fall comes before winter to prepare the trees for hard times. Winter is harsh, and the trees can either withstand the pain or fall from it.”
“People are like trees. Sometimes we hide our pain, our personalities, our imperfections, our circumstances, and our problems behind a mask or a filter. Other times our lives are simply beautiful. However, fall will snatch all those things we use to hide. It will test our spirits and spread its hand over our lives until it's chaotic and messy.”
“Then winter will come. Winter holds our darkest days and our lowest and coldest moments. We think we walk alone in a blizzard. We might fall to our knees and cry, or we may keep trudging forward into the darkness.”
“Look at those two trees again. The thin one is spinning all over the place while the thicker tree stands firm on the ground. You are the thin tree—young and inexperienced. Still, even the older tree has trouble dealing with hard times. See its branches? It’s about to snap off.”
“Can you survive winter with your mindset, love? Will telling yourself that life sucks and that you hate life get yourself through the storm?”
Bella’s face twisted with emotion.
What does auntie know about how I feel? she questioned. I never asked to be like this. How can I even deal with this?
All of the sudden, a gust of wind shot past Bella and Aunt May, nearly knocking them over like bowling pins. Bella clutched onto May’s jacket, trying to keep stable.
“You can never control how fall and winter hit ya,” Auntie May said, chuckling.
Bella let go of her aunt and stood straight. She ignored how the wind played with her hair so wildly and stared straight into May’s eyes.
“How’s this supposed to make me feel better?” Bella snapped.
She didn't mean to sound so harsh. Though, her brain couldn't process the words her aunt
just told her. Aunt May cracked a smile.
“Hard times have come for you, sweetie,” Aunt May revealed to her niece. “It’s alright to feel
how you feel. After all, nobody tells the trees to move when winter comes. Winter will teach you to embrace all your ugly and love it. It will teach you to stand strong and that breaking down doesn't mean you’re weak but human. When your storm is over, perhaps you’ll get it.”
Bella stood there, dumbfounded.
“You make no sense, Auntie,” she said, placing her palm on her forehead.
Suddenly, Aunt May laughed and wrapped her arms around Bella. “Oh well,” she happily sighed.
Soon, the two ladies began sauntering forward again. The day was still grey, but behind the clouds, the sun was ready to burst. However, it was up to Bella–would she let the clouds thicken or would she end the storm and crack some sunlight in?
Without knowing it, Bella made her choice.
Whatever Auntie May meant, Bella thought as she climbed into bed later that night, I’m sure
that I'll be alright. I'm just having a bad week, not a bad life. More good days are coming ahead if I just greet them, right?
"The Darkness of 2022" by Sophia (Published October 2022)
It was October 2, 2022, months after Frankenstein visited with Mother Sage, the witch of Ghost Town, who told him, “The darkness will come, and it should never wish to leave.” He had no clue how to pursue the darkness even if he knew what the darkness meant. Mother Sage had gone missing 12 hours ago, which was around 2:30 at night. The daredevil in Frankenstein had him on his toes ready to find the darkness that Mother Sage had spoken about. “Franky, your being crazy! This is not happening buddy. You are not taking me…” Pumpkin said before he had to stop mid sentence as he was being pulled down a hole by the bats that lived on ghost hill. “He falls for that every time,” Franky said starting to laugh as he walked to go find his best friend Pumpkin at the bottom of the hill. When he got down the hill he was greeted by Pumpkin scolding, “Man this is not funny. You do this to me every time you need me to do something and I say no. How do you even get the bats to take your side? Mr. Fiddle should take my side sometimes!” Franky just stared at his little bat friend, Mr. Fiddle, in complete silence before he was ready to start the journey.
“Crunch” the leaves crunched under their feet as they snuck through the forest trying to be quiet. They had no clue they were being as loud as a foolish bear and everyone including me, the Darkness, could hear. Oh how great it is when my victims come to me. “Ooooh Oooooh Ohhhh,” I sang as they stepped closer. “What was that? I’m done with this foolishness! Stop trying to scare me Franky, it’s not funny,” Pumpkin scolded without consideration. “I think we have found ourselves the Darkness because that was not me,” Franky said with the brightest smile. “I can’t do this I’m going back home. Goodbye Franky, and good luck,” Pumpkin said chickening out. “Man why do you always have to do this? Whatever! I will accomplish my mission without you,” Franky said as Pumpkin ran away never to look back. “Oooooh,” I continue to sing as the winds blew wild in the early morning sky. “This is too easy having three vserus one. Come on Mr. Kringle and Mother Sage before we miss another brainwashing opportunity,” I said to my army, “We must grow and become stronger. We must take over the world.” Of course I had to add some fluff to the conversation with my victims by adding my evil laugh. I do have to say my evil laugh makes the world feel stronger!
“Hello Darkness! I’ve heard you are in town. I’m here to cause no harm. Come out and talk. I have a good deal for you,” Franky suggested with a very kind voice, “Just give me my friends back and we will leave Ghost Town with no harm.” Oh how funny I thought he was trying to make a deal with me. I just want to rule the world! “NO!” I yelled making Franky jump backwards and trip on the tree roots. “Ouch!” Franky squealed as he fell on his back. I made Mother Sage walk out and spin around the tree right beside Franky. That about scared him half to death. I tried to hold it in but out came a great old laugh. I was mad at myself because that made Mr. Kringle and Mother Sage laugh too. You could see the frightening look swipe away from Franky’s face, and he almost bursted out laughing as well. This is not happening I thought. This is terrible. I can’t have my victims laughing!
At this point I was getting very irritated with my victims. They would not stop laughing even though I was trying to bring fear. The brainwash must have worn off or something terrible had gone wrong with the spell. “Stop,” I growled to my victims as they proceeded to keep laughing. The word stop must have triggered them to walk away instead of stop because now my victims were walking straight towards their homes. “My spell,” I yelled in total fear. Something terrible, something absolutely horrible, had just happened to my spell. The majestic berries must have mixed with some sort of majestic apple to flip the spell. This would be why my victims are doing the complete opposite of what I say. I must find a majestic carrot to flip my spell back to the original recipe. “Where should I find such a carrot.” I question out loud but completely to myself. “Stone Pathway,” someone whispered out of the blue. “What?” I questioned thinking I was talking to myself. “Stone Pathway,” the whispering continued. A rabbit jumped out right in front of the Darkness startling the Darkness back into the night. The rabbit hoped away right down a stone pathway that magically appeared. “Smart rabbit,” the Darkness said with a laugh starting to follow the rabbit.
Shortly down the pathway there was a carrot. It was a regular carrot right in the open with no other carrots around. The soil was mushy and golden brown sticking against the carrot’s body. “I have found my ingredient thanks to this foolish rabbit,” I announced with an evil laugh. “I must eat this carrot and then this town will all be mine.” The rabbit starred in complete freight at me. “Don’t worry. Soon enough you will be part of my team,” I howled to the tiny rabbit. “All I have to do is take one bite and it will all be mine within seconds,” I said to myself making sure the rabbit heard it too. I pulled the carrot quickly out of the mushy soil and popped it into my mouth without even trying to wipe the soil off. “Eww this is terrible,” I hollered thinking it would be worth it soon enough. “Oh my stomach. It hurts so bad,” I cried knowing something was terribly wrong with this carrot. “Aah my arm! Where did my arm go?” I hollered again in even more pain. “My leg. My other arm. My stomach,” I screamed as they all started fading away into the morning light. Seconds later I had fully faded away and all that was left was the hugging of the people from the town. “Oh Mother Sage. We all missed you and Mr. Kringle so dearly,” Frankenstein pleaded while hugging her. “The Darkness is not gone yet. More is coming,” Mother Sage ended before fading away just like the Darkness.
“Crunch” the leaves crunched under their feet as they snuck through the forest trying to be quiet. They had no clue they were being as loud as a foolish bear and everyone including me, the Darkness, could hear. Oh how great it is when my victims come to me. “Ooooh Oooooh Ohhhh,” I sang as they stepped closer. “What was that? I’m done with this foolishness! Stop trying to scare me Franky, it’s not funny,” Pumpkin scolded without consideration. “I think we have found ourselves the Darkness because that was not me,” Franky said with the brightest smile. “I can’t do this I’m going back home. Goodbye Franky, and good luck,” Pumpkin said chickening out. “Man why do you always have to do this? Whatever! I will accomplish my mission without you,” Franky said as Pumpkin ran away never to look back. “Oooooh,” I continue to sing as the winds blew wild in the early morning sky. “This is too easy having three vserus one. Come on Mr. Kringle and Mother Sage before we miss another brainwashing opportunity,” I said to my army, “We must grow and become stronger. We must take over the world.” Of course I had to add some fluff to the conversation with my victims by adding my evil laugh. I do have to say my evil laugh makes the world feel stronger!
“Hello Darkness! I’ve heard you are in town. I’m here to cause no harm. Come out and talk. I have a good deal for you,” Franky suggested with a very kind voice, “Just give me my friends back and we will leave Ghost Town with no harm.” Oh how funny I thought he was trying to make a deal with me. I just want to rule the world! “NO!” I yelled making Franky jump backwards and trip on the tree roots. “Ouch!” Franky squealed as he fell on his back. I made Mother Sage walk out and spin around the tree right beside Franky. That about scared him half to death. I tried to hold it in but out came a great old laugh. I was mad at myself because that made Mr. Kringle and Mother Sage laugh too. You could see the frightening look swipe away from Franky’s face, and he almost bursted out laughing as well. This is not happening I thought. This is terrible. I can’t have my victims laughing!
At this point I was getting very irritated with my victims. They would not stop laughing even though I was trying to bring fear. The brainwash must have worn off or something terrible had gone wrong with the spell. “Stop,” I growled to my victims as they proceeded to keep laughing. The word stop must have triggered them to walk away instead of stop because now my victims were walking straight towards their homes. “My spell,” I yelled in total fear. Something terrible, something absolutely horrible, had just happened to my spell. The majestic berries must have mixed with some sort of majestic apple to flip the spell. This would be why my victims are doing the complete opposite of what I say. I must find a majestic carrot to flip my spell back to the original recipe. “Where should I find such a carrot.” I question out loud but completely to myself. “Stone Pathway,” someone whispered out of the blue. “What?” I questioned thinking I was talking to myself. “Stone Pathway,” the whispering continued. A rabbit jumped out right in front of the Darkness startling the Darkness back into the night. The rabbit hoped away right down a stone pathway that magically appeared. “Smart rabbit,” the Darkness said with a laugh starting to follow the rabbit.
Shortly down the pathway there was a carrot. It was a regular carrot right in the open with no other carrots around. The soil was mushy and golden brown sticking against the carrot’s body. “I have found my ingredient thanks to this foolish rabbit,” I announced with an evil laugh. “I must eat this carrot and then this town will all be mine.” The rabbit starred in complete freight at me. “Don’t worry. Soon enough you will be part of my team,” I howled to the tiny rabbit. “All I have to do is take one bite and it will all be mine within seconds,” I said to myself making sure the rabbit heard it too. I pulled the carrot quickly out of the mushy soil and popped it into my mouth without even trying to wipe the soil off. “Eww this is terrible,” I hollered thinking it would be worth it soon enough. “Oh my stomach. It hurts so bad,” I cried knowing something was terribly wrong with this carrot. “Aah my arm! Where did my arm go?” I hollered again in even more pain. “My leg. My other arm. My stomach,” I screamed as they all started fading away into the morning light. Seconds later I had fully faded away and all that was left was the hugging of the people from the town. “Oh Mother Sage. We all missed you and Mr. Kringle so dearly,” Frankenstein pleaded while hugging her. “The Darkness is not gone yet. More is coming,” Mother Sage ended before fading away just like the Darkness.
"Pumpkin Knife" by Kaylin (Published October 2022)
It was a quiet and breezy evening on the night before Halloween and I was driving to my work site, Fall Frenzy. I work at a fall festival that opens every year around the start of fall. As I stop at a red light, I watch little kids putting up Halloween decorations outside their houses.
When the light turns green, I get excited because I can see Fall Frenzy in the distance. When I arrive, I find Emily and clock in with her. Emily says, “Hey Jessica! How was the drive?” I tell her that it was good and we grab a quick snack from Ben. While munching on our snacks we walk over to our stand, the Pumpkin Cafe. While Emily and I are opening the stand and setting things up Ben comes over and informs us of some news.
He says, “Hey guys, I don’t know if you guys heard, but one of our staff members went missing. He was last seen at our corn maze and no one has seen him since.” Emily and I ask who it was and Ben informs us that Andrew was the one that went missing. Emily starts crying her eyes out and informs Ben that she likes him.
Ben asked me if I already knew that she had a crush on him and I told him I did. We tried to comfort Emily, but it was no use. Emily ran into the corn maze and we ran after her. While running, Ben asked me if I was okay and I told him I was. I also mentioned that I didn’t know Andrew that much but knew him because he worked with us. We sped up and zigzagged through the corn maze and finally stopped when we saw Emily standing in the middle of the path.
Then we all stood there in sheer horror as we saw Andrew laying in the middle of the path. I quickly ran up to him and checked for a pulse but there wasn’t one. Then I checked where there was blood coming out and saw he was stabbed by a pumpkin knife. After that, I lifted his shirt because there was more blood coming from there and then I fainted.
I awoke when I heard screaming that sounded like Emily’s voice. I tried to get up but it was no use because I was too dizzy to move. When I finally felt like getting up I noticed that Emily and Ben weren’t there anymore. I started walking to the exit of the corn maze when suddenly out of nowhere Emily comes out and scares me. I start screaming at the top of my lungs, and Emily explains that she, Ben, and Andrew staged the whole accident. I started to laugh and told her how good it was.
Then Ben and Andrew came out from where they were hiding and told me that they knew that I would faint when I saw blood oozing out of Andrew’s terrible scar. I told them that we should part ways and get back to work and they agreed. When Emily and I arrived at the Pumpkin Cafe they were already a line of customers waiting for brunch. Throughout the day Emily and I worked and talked about different things in our lives.
By the end of the day I was completely exhausted and wanted to head home but Emily asked if I could come over to her house and sleepover. I didn’t want to be a bad friend so I packed up my things and told her I’ll follow her home in my car. While I was driving, I got excited and started thinking about how eager I was.
When we arrived, Emily gave me a house tour and told me to make myself comfortable. After a little while, we started getting bored and decided to play board games. While we were playing Monopoly, Emily asked me why I lied to Ben and told him I didn’t know Andrew. I told her I lied because I didn’t want Ben to know that I like him. Emily just nodded, and I didn’t tell Emily this, but I felt kind of mad that she started liking Andrew even though I told her I like him.
Later I started getting tired and told Emily I was going to bed, so she took me to her bedroom. She whispered to me goodnight and left the room. After a little bit, I realized she left the light on and got up to turn it off but while I was walking over I noticed a poster in her closet that had big letters. I was curious and opened her closet, I picked it up and stared in horror at the poster.
On the poster, she had written a secret plan to kill Andrew on Halloween. I didn’t know why she wanted to kill him and I didn’t know if I should confront her about it. I started to hear footsteps come toward the room and hurriedly put the poster where I found it and rushed to the bed. Emily came in, laid down, and went to bed.
In the morning, I made breakfast, left a note for Emily, and left the house. I had an important task to do and I quickly ran to the car and sped down the road to the market. After I got what I needed I went home and called the police and told them what I found in Emily’s house. The police told me they would send an officer right over to her house and check up on Andrew. After the call, I got tired and drifted to sleep because I had work tomorrow at Fall Frenzy.
In the morning, I woke up, ate a bagel and drove to work. When I arrived everyone filled me in and told me that the police found Andrew dead in his house last night. They told me he was stabbed by a pumpkin knife, and an officer went to Emily’s house and found her plan poster, and arrested her. After everyone filled me in, I walked by myself to the Pumpkin Cafe smiling about what happened last night. It was too easy to frame Emily and kill Andrew, I wonder who will be my next target?
When the light turns green, I get excited because I can see Fall Frenzy in the distance. When I arrive, I find Emily and clock in with her. Emily says, “Hey Jessica! How was the drive?” I tell her that it was good and we grab a quick snack from Ben. While munching on our snacks we walk over to our stand, the Pumpkin Cafe. While Emily and I are opening the stand and setting things up Ben comes over and informs us of some news.
He says, “Hey guys, I don’t know if you guys heard, but one of our staff members went missing. He was last seen at our corn maze and no one has seen him since.” Emily and I ask who it was and Ben informs us that Andrew was the one that went missing. Emily starts crying her eyes out and informs Ben that she likes him.
Ben asked me if I already knew that she had a crush on him and I told him I did. We tried to comfort Emily, but it was no use. Emily ran into the corn maze and we ran after her. While running, Ben asked me if I was okay and I told him I was. I also mentioned that I didn’t know Andrew that much but knew him because he worked with us. We sped up and zigzagged through the corn maze and finally stopped when we saw Emily standing in the middle of the path.
Then we all stood there in sheer horror as we saw Andrew laying in the middle of the path. I quickly ran up to him and checked for a pulse but there wasn’t one. Then I checked where there was blood coming out and saw he was stabbed by a pumpkin knife. After that, I lifted his shirt because there was more blood coming from there and then I fainted.
I awoke when I heard screaming that sounded like Emily’s voice. I tried to get up but it was no use because I was too dizzy to move. When I finally felt like getting up I noticed that Emily and Ben weren’t there anymore. I started walking to the exit of the corn maze when suddenly out of nowhere Emily comes out and scares me. I start screaming at the top of my lungs, and Emily explains that she, Ben, and Andrew staged the whole accident. I started to laugh and told her how good it was.
Then Ben and Andrew came out from where they were hiding and told me that they knew that I would faint when I saw blood oozing out of Andrew’s terrible scar. I told them that we should part ways and get back to work and they agreed. When Emily and I arrived at the Pumpkin Cafe they were already a line of customers waiting for brunch. Throughout the day Emily and I worked and talked about different things in our lives.
By the end of the day I was completely exhausted and wanted to head home but Emily asked if I could come over to her house and sleepover. I didn’t want to be a bad friend so I packed up my things and told her I’ll follow her home in my car. While I was driving, I got excited and started thinking about how eager I was.
When we arrived, Emily gave me a house tour and told me to make myself comfortable. After a little while, we started getting bored and decided to play board games. While we were playing Monopoly, Emily asked me why I lied to Ben and told him I didn’t know Andrew. I told her I lied because I didn’t want Ben to know that I like him. Emily just nodded, and I didn’t tell Emily this, but I felt kind of mad that she started liking Andrew even though I told her I like him.
Later I started getting tired and told Emily I was going to bed, so she took me to her bedroom. She whispered to me goodnight and left the room. After a little bit, I realized she left the light on and got up to turn it off but while I was walking over I noticed a poster in her closet that had big letters. I was curious and opened her closet, I picked it up and stared in horror at the poster.
On the poster, she had written a secret plan to kill Andrew on Halloween. I didn’t know why she wanted to kill him and I didn’t know if I should confront her about it. I started to hear footsteps come toward the room and hurriedly put the poster where I found it and rushed to the bed. Emily came in, laid down, and went to bed.
In the morning, I made breakfast, left a note for Emily, and left the house. I had an important task to do and I quickly ran to the car and sped down the road to the market. After I got what I needed I went home and called the police and told them what I found in Emily’s house. The police told me they would send an officer right over to her house and check up on Andrew. After the call, I got tired and drifted to sleep because I had work tomorrow at Fall Frenzy.
In the morning, I woke up, ate a bagel and drove to work. When I arrived everyone filled me in and told me that the police found Andrew dead in his house last night. They told me he was stabbed by a pumpkin knife, and an officer went to Emily’s house and found her plan poster, and arrested her. After everyone filled me in, I walked by myself to the Pumpkin Cafe smiling about what happened last night. It was too easy to frame Emily and kill Andrew, I wonder who will be my next target?
"Plot of The Pumpkin" by Chloe (Published October 2022)
My brother was always a fan of Halloween. Not because of the candy, the costumes, or the fun of going door-to-door in an expensive outfit that makes him look like something else, but because of his birthday. He was born on October 31st. Halloween.
“Clara, honey, can you please, for the fourth time, get me the car keys from inside so we can go?”
“Mom! I’m in the middle of the level on Candy Crush! Get them yourself! You’re closer.” “Don’t make me ask you again! Now.”
“Ugh! Fine.”
Thirteen year old Clarissa Anne Rodriguez slowly got out of her mother’s black convertible to
grab the keys off of the table in her small house. Smiling, her mother watched as she ran towards their cabin. She opened the door using the spare key and slowly crept inside. The house keys, placed in front of the window, had a shine to them when looked at a certain way. Clara never looked at them that way and thought they were a dull gray color, no shine. In fact, she thought everything was gray. No color. No fun.
“I got the keys mom!” Clara yelled across the yard.
Clara’s mother gave her a small thumbs up and continued doing her makeup. Rolling her eyes, Clara walked towards the car.
“You could at least thank me, you know,” Clara sighed.
“You were doing it so well I didn’t want to mess that up!” Clara’s mother replied. “Besides, you need more responsibility, not everything you do will be rewarded.”
“Oh, so if I do something nice nobody’s going to thank me? Wonderful!” Clara said sarcastically.
Clara’s mother rolled her eyes and started the car. She put her mirror up and smiled. Bright red lipstick and a smokey eye. Way too overboard for a trip to Costco. That’s the way she is nowadays. Newly single, and ready to mingle. After a terrible divorce, she had decided to find a new man, again. Considering she doesn't know how to parent and she has two kids, she needs the help, but Clara doesn't want another father. She's had five since she was born. Thirteen years ago.
“How's school going dear?” Clara’s mother asked.
“I would prefer not to talk about it,” Clara muttered.
“Really? Hiding what you do isn't helping your grades!” Clara’s mother yelled.
“What do you mean?” Clara asked, confused.
“I just had a conference with your teachers last night,” Clara’s mother began saying. Clara squirmed in her seat. Costco was visible from where the car was.
“Costco is right there, “ Clara groaned. “Can we pick this up later?”
“No,” Clara’s mother said smugly. “Your teachers said that you were failing all of your
classes but one! What is up with that?”
The car pulled into the parking lot. Clara stayed silent.
“We’ll discuss this later,” Clara’s mother sighed. “Lets buy the party supplies and get the party set up.”
Clara was thankful she didn't have to discuss the problem right now. They got out of the car and began their walk towards the bright blue building. The Costco was located in the small town of Pinehurst near Toledo, Ohio. They grabbed a cart and began their search for party supplies. This was a difficult task, considering his favorite things change depending on which day of the week it was. They carefully scanned the aisles looking for anything Batman related. His favorite superhero was always Batman. Considering he's turning ten, he will, of course, deny everything they say about his little obsession. Clara paused, looking at a Batman pinata. She walked in that direction, steering left of her mother. Smiling, she looked back to show her mother her new discovery, but she was already gone. She shrugged it off and grabbed the pinata. The pinata was bright and vibrant, nothing like her. Usually, she'd just look at it, grab it, and toss it into the cart as she looked through the other aisle. But this was different. Much different.
“Mother?” Clara squeaked.
She didn't like the silence. She shook the pinata and noticed that there was a noise from inside. She listened to the noise when she shook it again. Paper. Why?
“Oh my goodness!” Clara’s mother yelled. “Where were you? I was scared half to death!”
“I'm okay, mother. What do you think about this?” Clara asked, holding up the Batman piñata.
“Doesn't look very good, but it'll do.” Clara’s mother shrugged. “I found some other things. Let's go before it's too late to get the pumpkins!”
Clara and her mother scrambled to the checkout. There was an older woman who was writing a check to the store and had to get approval from the bank to pay. Clara’s mother checked her watch and ran to another lane to check out. She ran to self checkout and scanned her items quickly. They grabbed the receipt and bags and bolted out of the store as fast as they could.
“Okay, pumpkin patch here we come!” Clara’s mother cheered.
Clara stared down at the pinata. What is in that pinata? She wondered. They exited Pinehurst and entered the pumpkin patch, which was in a neighboring town. The patch was small and only had around forty pumpkins but they only needed three. It was a small get together where her little brother and two friends were carving pumpkins for his birthday. They plan to decorate the house for the big party. They looked at the dark sky surrounding the patch. Nobody was there. Clara’s mother walked straight into the patch and began examining pumpkins. Clara cocked her head, confused as to why her mother was entering the closed pumpkin patch. Clara turned around and looked at the pinata. Mother wouldn't mind if I opened the pinata right? She has to put the candy in there, Clara thought. Clara slowly crept towards the pinata. She opened the side of it. Dusty air filled her nostrils and to her surprise, she saw nothing. She decided to put her hand inside to make sure. She felt around for anything that would prove her suspicion. She felt the corner of something and pulled a folded piece of paper out. She stared at the paper for what felt like hours. She finally opened it up and what she saw shocked her so much, she didn't believe it. After reading the words on the paper, she laughed. No way is this real. She turned around, put the note in her pocket, and walked into the pumpkin patch to start exploring. She searched for the ‘perfect’ pumpkin. She spotted one and went to
grab it. As she did, she noticed some gray spots in the dirt. They started rising up out of the ground and she could see what they were. Fingers. She could make out the nails and the shape perfectly . The hand was completely out of the ground when she screamed. She let go of the pumpkin, stumbling back and running towards her mother.
“Mom!” She screamed. “There’s a hand in the pumpkin patch!”
“Oh please, there's no hand. You’re just seeing things,” Clara’s mother sighed.
“I'm not kidding!” Clara yelled.
“Stop the nonsense and look for a pumpkin. Don't make me ask you again.”
Clara‘s heart raced faster than a man in a nascar race. She was petrified. She turned
around, still scared. Then, she heard her mother scream. She whipped around to see a hand on her mother’s ankle. Her mother took off her other shoe and smacked the hand with a hard stiletto. The hand retreated underground and a head started appearing.
“Run!” Clara’s mother yelled.
The two of them ran across the pumpkin patch and realized they were heading deeper into the patch. They both screamed as the heads poked out of the ground. Zombies.
“I told you!” Clara yelled.
“Okay! I believe you! But right now, we need to get out of here!” Clara’s mother yelled back.
The zombies approached them and were right in front of them in mere seconds. They had a wide variety of clothing. Some had childrens clothes and were short, and others had on suits and were tall. But some had lab coats on. This was a little strange to Clara. One zombie came up front and pointed directly at Clara’s pocket. The one with the note in it. Clara’s eyes widened. She pulled the note out and read it again.
Thursday, May 15, 1927
To whoever finds this note, I beg you bring this to the light of day. The pumpkin
patch isn't what it seems to be. There are buried children, parents, businessmen, and scientists under here. The company, Hydro Exclusive Industries, has killed numerous people with their new drink! They've covered it up for years. They've decided to bury all of those people in a far away field. They turned it into a pumpkin patch and nobody ever found out! Please, I beg of you, bring this to the authorities and whatever you do, don't confront them. They will hunt you. Do the right thing and hand this over to officials. Don't do it on your own. You need help.
Clara stood in silence with tears forming in her eyes. She knew what she had to do. All of the zombies went back underground. Clara grabbed her mother by the wrist. They walked to the car and got in.
“Drive home,” Clara said, her breath shaky but determined.
Her mother drove back to Pinehurst. They had some calls to make.
"Adventures in Mermaid Land" by Caitlin (Published October 2022)
One gorgeous summer day, Pearl and her little sister Coral went to the shore. They dwelled there all day long as a gentle warm breeze blew. And when they had to depart, the sun began setting. The scenery of the cotton candy sunset was intoxicating, but they begrudgingly packed up their stuff and got ready to go home. When they got home, they were meant to go to sleep, but they got into a quarrel instead. Pearl got so upset with Coral that she said in an angry whisper yell, "I wish you would just disappear!" The next day, Pearl woke up to apologize, but couldn’t find Coral anywhere, so she decided to look on the shore for her. Then, Pearl remembered that last night she wished that Coral would disappear, so Pearl decided to wish that she would disappear too so that she would end up wherever Coral was. Pearl found herself underwater by a gorgeous aquatic castle. She also saw with her own eyes people that looked like fish, but then she recognized them as mermaids like ones from books her parents used to read to her. Pearl began swimming about looking for Coral, and after a long time, Pearl found her, but she was sporting a tiara and their parents a crown. Pearl wondered if, in this world, they were royalty. Pearl swam up to the castle and found her family from this world. They were lovely, but Pearl knew what she needed to do. She wished that Coral and her would return home. When Pearl got home she looked for Coral, and her sister was safe and sound in their room. That night Pearl and Coral did not bicker. They went straight to bed. The next morning, Pearl woke with a start and saw a bunch of butterflies flying around her room. Adventures in Mermaid Land pt 2 By Caitlin Crane Pearl and Coral couldn’t quit thinking about their adventure in mermaid land, nor could they stop thinking about the sinking sensation in their gut that something ominous was happening soon. They figured it had something to do with the strange butterflies they saw. They pondered and thought of a lot of theories, but they just wished they could find the butterflies when abruptly, a strange gust of wind came. The sisters found themselves in a patch of cute flowers, when the flowers started talking the girls were scared and confused. “Welcome to the butterfly fairies' village,” The flowers sang in unison. Then, the girls realized that the butterflies they saw must’ve been fairies, and they were presumably looking for aid. In all the bedtime stories their parents used to read to them it always said that fairies could only travel to the human world when they were in trouble and needed assistance. Out of nowhere, there was a loud crash then it began flooding, water was coming from everywhere. They thought they were going to drown when out of nowhere a mermaid appeared and saved them. Pearl and Coral eventually determined, after talking to a mermaid while they were in fairyland that the crash must’ve been the two lands colliding, and now they were merging to make one big magical land. After that, fairies started popping out of the blossoms and said, “We need help, a lot of help!” The fairies said that they could sense danger coming and that since the sisters were magical they could sense it too. At that, the girls were rendered speechless and very confuse
"The Fall Contest" by Owen (Published October 2022)
The crisp leaves, the pumpkin pie, the cool air, the crunch of autumn. Staying near Montpellier, Vermont, and having a fall get-together in 3 weeks. My dad and I lived in Florida. We took a train to Lorton, then drove to Vermont. My aunt and uncle live in Maine. My grandma and grandpa live here in a mansion in Vermont. My mom died in a crash, my dad told me. But something was off about this story. So I, Zachary, thought of a plan. I was rich because my job pays so much, that I could find the last place she was before she ‘died’. After digging deeper into a drawer, I found a letter from mom saying she was coming from San Francisco. But I couldn't notice the date. October 24, 2000. Funny, that was the exact date as my birthday. It said she was in Seattle, Washington. But I was born at home in New Hampshire. Things are getting suspicious. So I told dad I was going to Vermont on my own. I mean, after finding my mother, I will take her to Vermont and say we met on a plane. Who happens to have a picture of me in her purse? So she will stay with us and we will be a reunited family. So I drove to the airport and jumped on a plane bound for Seattle. After I got on, I noticed that there was an old man and a woman about the age of 75. This reminds me of finding my mother. After about a 6 hour's worth of flight, we touched down in Seattle. I noticed that Seattle was a big, bustling city. I had the letter clutched in my grasp. That is when I noticed a picture. It was mothers face. In front of the Space Needle. So I hailed a taxi. When I got there, it was 26 degrees Fahrenheit, so cold that I shivered to the point I thought I was going to fall into someone. So I steadied myself and walked in. And there was a woman older than me. I asked about my mom and she said “Honey?” I wheeled around to see a business lady with her jaw open so wide, you could stuff a pizza in there and eat it in 1 bite. I held up the picture. She had dark black hair like the beak of a raven. She was 5’2” and had a long green skirt reaching to her ankles and orange high heels. She had a necklace made of gold. After studying her she took my hand to the Sky City Cafè. We had to catch up with our lives. She said after she headed to San Francisco, she found a job with good pay. But her job was a fake. She got a job at a technology company. But her boss was a wanted hacker and criminal. They were forced to keep silent. But she got a day off because she said some fake hacking tips. She immediately called the Seattle Police Department. Her boss was arrested and put in jail for 11 years. She and the other workers got 1 million for the capture of the ruthless criminal hacker. She was a spy for the police and stayed until she quit after rude comments stabbed her in the back. She went to Seattle after I was born because her husband was drunk and got killed in a car accident in Montana. a year later, she married Joey, her step husband who I called “dad”. She didn't want to bring me to Seattle because of the possibility of me getting hurt or dead. She wanted to keep it a secret so I would not doubt her. After 19 days in Seattle catching up with mom and spending time together, we left for Concord and drove to the reunion early. Dad was surprised to see his wife. “Gloria,” he said in a dreamy voice. “Joey” she replied dreamily. She leaped into his arms and kissed me as I ran for the playroom. Dad pulled me aside and said I was not in trouble, but he said “You open your heart, you find a puzzle part”. I think that meant I dedicated myself to finding mom and was the missing person in our family. But at least it was such a great adventure. And found my missing mother. And at age 22, I was glad to have an amazing mother and father.
by Joshua (Based off of "Despicable Me" (Published October 2022)
It was a normal day in Gru’s mailroom. A minion named Mike was stamping packages, envelopes, and usually stuff. That’s when he realized that his partner Kevin was slacking off playing on his mini game console. Mike criticized him out for not doing his job. Kevin eventually caved in and started to actually do his job. He decided to make work “full by playing a game where you throw boxes at the right pipes.
Mike stopped him and said it was “dangerous”. That’s when a big package came with a bunch of stickers and warnings. Any package with warnings is a bad sign. Inside it was the PX-41 potion, recently El Macho stole the PX-41 is make an army or phantasm minions but stoped by Gru and his girls.
That’s when Kevin ignored Mikes warning and threw the box in the pipes. Believe it or not, the box got stuck! Mike got mad and annoyed, telling Mike to never to do that crap ever again before the box exploded cause of the compression and the PX-41 got all over Mike.
Mike was gonna just wipe it off not knowing what it is any without problem. He started transform into a phantasm minion. He had purple hair and sharp teeth. Kevin was in shocked and didn’t even realized that a twisted Mike was charging right towards him! Thank god that Mike transformed back until his normal yellow self with now some purple hair.
Turns out that the patch of PX-41 wasn’t normal, it was kinda tampered. It causes the victims until a phantasm version and normal self. Now Mike had to deal that, transforming back and forth and back and forth and kept eating the packages!
That’s when Kevin put two and two together, he didn’t have to do his job! He kept gaming on his well game while Mike kept begging to help him while transforming until a phantasm minion.
That’s when Kevin saw a box containing kittens and Kevin kept telling Mike while at the time being a phantasm minion to stop before eating them. That’s when Kevin took matters into his own hand and grabbed the kittens before becoming a five course meal! Then it was a game of Mario as he kept jumping over boxes!
That’s when Kevin and Mike crashed into a huge pile of boxes and it was a deadly game to cat and mouse. When Kevin reached the tippy top, Mike was not that far behind and was ready to have the meal of his life. That’s when Kevin did the only thing he could, he kicked Mike in the face.
That’s when thankfully that Mike was back in his original state. And he was cured! His coughed up some PX-41.... on the cat. The two minions promised that maybe the tell Gru to switch Jobs. But they heard some beastly noises and find the cats. A phantasm version of those cats.