Here is one of the winners of the 2013 Scary Story Contest organized by Coquitlam and Port Moody public libraries and sponsored by The Tri-City News.
3RD PLACE, 11-14 years
Untitled
By Claire Zhang, 12, Port Moody
I glared at her, trying not to blink. Blinking meant losing, and I would not lose to her. Not again. Who does she think she is? She's definitely not the boss of me, that's for sure. She's only three years older than me, and I'm actually the more responsible one. But the problem is, even if I could somehow manage to out stare her, she would bring the situation to mom, and mom would always side with her, no matter who was right. What was that saying? First born, first love? That's the perfect description for my life, always being overshadowed by Jessica. I used to be dad's favourite, so that would always even it out, but then of course he had to die, of course. Dad dying also seemed to give Jess the courage to step up and become the parent once in a while. This was once in a while.
"You can't stop me, you're not the boss of me", I said, trying to keep my voice even.
She glared harder. "Try me", she growled.
I glared harder too. I've never felt so much hatred for someone before. I promised to myself I wouldn't back down, no matter how unnerving her stare was.
The hatred boiled even worse, and I could feel the knot of emotion in my throat again. I hated her. Even if she is my sister, I still hated her. I wanted her gone. I wanted her dead.
Once I thought this in my head, time seemed to freeze. Jessica stopped breathing, but stood frozen on the floor. The room swirled with thick, black mist, and I couldn't see anything. I couldn't breathe. Then, as quick as it had appeared, it disappeared through a fathomless hole. The room looked the same the same as it had been, except that Jessica was on the floor, motionless dead.
I crept slowly towards her. Tears started to form in my eyes. What had I done? I stood above her, watching as each tear touched her turned to blood, her blood. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing, so I just watched, flinching as each of them turned crimson red on her skin. Suddenly, dad's voice echoed through the room. "Is this what I taught you?" he asked, his voice sepulchral. "You only need to ask darling, just ask." I looked up, and I could see him. Bloody and broken from the car accident, yet he was translucent. He was a ghost. "Don't let her join me, not yet." Then with that, He disappeared into black mist, but unlike last time, the mist lingered.
So I stared at the mist, and barely audible through the tears, I whispered, "Bring her back daddy, please." The mist got thicker until I couldn't breathe again. I could only count my tears to measure how long it lasted. When it disappeared, Jessica coughed and looked around, then focused on me, still glaring. But it didn't matter. She was alive.
