-by Kathryn M., 8th Grade
Photo Courtesy of WikiMedia Commons
She looked down the dark passage, eerie and unending. Swallowing hard, as though she might swallow her tongue, she stepped forward. The floorboards creaked under her as if daring to give way. She walked farther. And the creaks sounding like laughter, mocking and scorning her as she continued. And the walls seemed to grow faces for the laughter.
Such horrible faces, jeering and glowering at her. She began to run, to sprint. She had to get away, away from the faces and the laughter echoing forever in her ears. Tears streaming down her face, her heart pounding as though she was running a marathon. The laughter grew louder and the walls more gruesome. She had to get away, far away. The laughter was so loud she couldn’t hear herself breath or the blood pounding in her ears.
And she hated it, all of it. She hated being so scared. She hated the faces and the laughter. She wanted to hit and punch and kick in every direction. She wanted to punch the faces and scream at the laughter.
She suddenly realized she had stopped. Then, without thinking, she threw her head back.
” Shut up!” she screamed.
Her yell echoed all around her, seeming to shake the walls and the floor. And the
laughter died away. The faces disappeared. She listened. Nothing but her own
breathing, which was shaky. Straightening up, she walked on. Nothing echoing,
around her but the sounds of her own footsteps.
The Quill Online 