SCREAMS by DARLA STRASSER - Age 10

It was a dragging day at school a few weeks before Halloween and everything was themed as the upcoming holiday. The teachers playing classic Halloween music, pumpkins, and maybe even a little bit of candy.

The twins, Jaiden and Sal were getting their books for the next class they had, but then strangely the school bell rang. The twins knew exactly what was about to happen.

Moments later the halls were flooded with children. Stomping and trampling around and over Sal and Jaiden. After a while the students were all out the door waiting for their parents.

“How did we forget today was a half day?” Sal asked in a mocking voice. “Let’s just hurry so Mom and Dad don’t have to wait on us too long.”

When they finished packing their bags, they went outside in the frigid cold. Twenty-five minutes later, they started to worry. After another fifteen minutes, their principal left the building and noticed the children were still there, so he invited them inside.

The principal gave them his phone number for them to call him if their parents didn’t come, then left again. He was off the school’s road when it started to rain. But this wasn’t a little sprinkle for a few seconds; it was an absolute down pour.

Sal got a bit startled when it started because his head was right next to the window. “Where did all of this rain come from!?” He shouted loud enough to be heard all the way down the hallway.
The twins finally decided to call the principal. The call said it failed so they tried again, but the same message appeared.

“The phone line must be out.” Jaiden said slowly and quietly. By that time, the rain was far worse than it was before. Jaiden looked down at the floor with an I-wish-today-wasn’t-like-this look.

Sal tried to cheer her up. “Let’s go to the lunchroom and get some ice cream.”

Jaiden looked up and they both chuckled, then they started to walk down the hall to the lunchroom.
After the ice cream break, they went off to the gym to kick a ball around together. Then, on the fourth kick they heard someone or something walking through the air ducts.

“What the flip was that?” Jaiden said in her mix of scared and angry voice.

SLAM! Both twins looked back at the shut and locked door. Next, a high pitched screech echoed across the big room. Moments later the wretched noise made its last echo. What looked like a shadow jumped out of one of the vents.

The figure suddenly landed on Sal. Jaiden was screaming, watching her brother struggling to get him off. She noticed a ball next to her and threw it at the figure-man, knocking him off of Sal. The twins bolted out of the gym.

The man started chasing them.

“We should get the storage room keys and hide there!” Sal shouted and Jaiden nodded.
They swooped by the front office and got the key. “There’s the storage room.”

They hid under some boxes right by the door and waited.

“Wait, how do we get out if we want to?” Sal asked.

“Don’t ask me!” Jaiden answered in a rather exasperated tone.

“Wow, Jaiden this is the worst plan you ever made.” Sal continued.

“IT WASN’T EVEN MY IDEA!” Jaiden shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Hold on. Be quiet for second.” Sal said.

“No! This is ridiculous!” Jaiden wasn’t finished.

“QUIET!!!” Sal shouted, and Jaiden immediately stopped talking.

Then they heard footsteps, little tiny, continuous clicks. As the door started to open, black cloth slipped through the crack. A second later the man picked them up.

The twins wrestled to get out of his grip but his grip was made of steel.

Jaiden started to disintegrate! “HELP! STOP, MAKE IT STOOOOOOP! PLEASE! AHHHHHHH”

Sal heard the most blood curtailing scream ever.

Then Sal’s sister was nothing… just a pile of dust on the floor. Sal was next, and he started to cry but his tears evaporated.

He looked around, sitting in his bed next to Jaiden’s, and they both had a horrified expression. They fell backwards to lie down. Sal rubbed his eyes and turned on the lamp.

“I just had the worst dream ever. There was this mystery man and disintegrating people and rain half-days an—”

Sal abruptly stopped her. “Same…. how did we have the same dream though?” Sal wondered. “Maybe we can read each other’s minds.”

Jaiden went wide-eyed at Sal’s suggestion. “That’s so coo—”

The End!