SCARY STORY CONTEST
15-18 YEARS CATEGORY
SECOND PLACE
13 Swallow Street
By Talia Madsen, 17, Coquitlam
"Come on Rose, you aren't scared, are you?" Sean snickered at his little sister's angry expression. She didn't expect it to be too bad, but now that she stood directly in front of the deserted cottage, her bravery was quickly diminishing. Not to mention the recently growing number of missing people in town. Her brother and his friend Lucas had dared her, and she agreed. The deal was that Rose was to lead the way into the run down, malevolent looking house, 13 Swallow Street. "Remember," Lucas added, "once we're in, there's no backing out." Rose sighed dramatically, and lightly crept up the heavily used front steps. She began to turn the door knob, but to her surprise the door swung open immediately. The children gasped, and held their noses attempting to block the putrid stench wafting in their direction. The first thing they saw in the dark foyer was a towering rock fireplace with a door on each side. Oddly enough, they seemed to be the only things free of cobwebs.
Rose stepped inside first, Lucas and Sean close behind. As soon as Sean's second foot was firmly placed on the wooden floor, the front door slammed just as quickly as it had opened. Sean snatched the handle to open it again, but it wouldn't budge.
Just then, they heard a most ominous noise. At first it sounded like a low rumbling, from deep within the soul of the structure. A few moments later, the noise got louder, and morphed into a vicious growl. Rose closed her eyes and covered her ears, and the boys held their breath as they saw the fireplace burst to life. From beneath her eyelids Rose could see the hungry red flame that had appeared out of thin air. She opened her eyes and the children glanced at one another in horror, silently remembering their deal.
A bead of sweat trickled down Rose's forehead and dropped to the floor. The droplet sizzled, and dissolved into the wood. The fire then made a peculiar sound, like a satisfied sigh. The tiny hairs on the back of Rose's neck stood up, and then she realized this wasn't a joke anymore.
The house was hungry.
Before she could process her nightmarish thoughts, the two doors beside the fireplace slowly creaked open in unison. They each hid a downward staircase, which disappeared into the darkness after the first few steps. The boys, clearly panicking, each bounded down the stairs in attempt to escape from the growing thirsty flames.
Sean yelled at Rose to follow him, but she was too afraid to descend the pitch black stairwell. He continued down assuming she was in pursuit, but once the boys had disappeared into the blackness, the doors slammed shut, and the front door opened.
Rose was in utter shock. She stumbled out the front door and down the pathway, turning back briefly once she reached the sidewalk. Her eyes widened as she noticed the address had changed.
