The Last Straw

By Brighton Rogers

Chapter 1

Brighton

It was a clear and joyful night until…

Me and my friends, Cydney and Nadalae, were out trick-or-treating. We hit the jackpot, collecting so much candy until our pillow cases were full. We were just having fun, enjoying ourselves, and we started to walk to Cydney’s house. 

And that’s when we heard a scream.

Not just a normal scream, but a blood-curling, dreadful, terrifying scream, but most importantly, it sounded awfully familiar.

I stopped walking. We all did. But something felt… strange. The wind? No. The costumes? No. Wait…

“Why is everyone still walking?” Nadalae asked, a second before I did. Not only were we the only ones to stop, no one else acted like they heard the scream. It felt wrong. I looked into the sky. It was a clear night, so clear you could see a billion stars floating in the sky, as if they were being tugged back against their will. I can almost feel their terror. 

We started walking again, but this time to where the scream sounded like where it was. We walked by the store that was haunted with ghosts on the ceiling, and we passed The Haunted House, the best decorated house in Texas. Finally, we heard the shriek again, but much closer. 

We were walking past the farm when I noticed something… eerie. A scarecrow was staring directly at us. “Hey guys, wait.” I called out to Cydney and Nadalae. They both started coming back, but then I felt… drowsy. My eyes felt like someone had frightened them, and they went into hiding.

“Brighton. Brighton, wake up.” I opened my eyes like I was awaking from being dead, then I stared at my friends. “How long have I been out?” I asked Cydney, noticing dropped candy on the ground. As I leaned over to pick it up, she replied.

You see, here’s the good thing about Cydney. She always tells the truth. Never in my life have I heard her tell a lie. “Couple minutes. About ten.” She tells me. I look around. No scarecrow.

“Where’s the scarecrow?” I ask, my eyebrows buried into my skull. “What scarecrow?” They say simultaneously. Strange. Then Cydney’s and Nadalae’s eyes opened wide open, like a book. 

“Do-do you mean that scarecrow?” Cydney said, trembling with mortal fear. 

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I spin around to find a scarecrow right behind me. It looks… familiar.

Then everything went black once again.

Chapter 2

Cydney

I woke up in a chamber.

At least, it seemed like a chamber. I looked around my surroundings. I noticed… strange things.

First off, no doors, windows, or ways to escape. Second, there were kids everywhere. Little kids, big kids, even some teens. I seeked out Brighton in the crowd.

“Where’s Nadalae?” We both ask simultaneously. “I thought she was with you!” I yelled, kicking the ground. As I grabbed my foot in pain, Brighton said, “I think I saw her.” 

“Well! Where?!?!” I shriek, sobbing in the process. “I think I saw her being  lowered into the ground. Somewhere over…” He wandered off to a specific location somewhere. I followed him. “... Here. Find a shovel.” He smiled shyly. “Let’s get digging.”

A couple of minutes later, I found a big tree log broken off a ragged tree. I called for Brighton and waited. No response. I kept calling his name. Still no response.

A couple of attempts later, he finally came, sweating and breathing heavily. “What happened to you?” I asked nervously. He huffed a bit, then said, “The yard. We need to leave. Now.” He told me as he started shaking heavily. His eyes rolled up, then he fell down, onto the soft, mushy ground.

I was alone.

Chapter 3

Nadalae

My voice was hoarse from screaming. “Help! Help! Please! Help me!” I screamed, banging my fists against the top of the cot.

I didn’t know what to do. I was truly alone. A while ago, I thought I saw light, but I was probably dreaming.

Suddenly, I heard a sound. It sounded like someone was walking around here. I then heard this strange sound that I couldn’t identify. I heard a muffled voice. “Nadalae!” It yelled.

“I’m here! I’m here! Down here!” I screamed, ignoring my throbbing throat. I kept yelling until I really couldn’t speak. Just then I saw light. The cot door opened, revealing…

“Cydney!” I said, hugging her. Her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying for a while. I noticed that Brighton wasn’t here.

“Where’s Brighton?’ I ask, but from her eyes, I think I already know. She started sobbing again. I sobbed with her. I haven’t known Brighton for very long, but I knew he was a kind person, a little shy, and nice. It broke me that he was gone. After a while she wiped her tears and said, “We should hurry. We need to leave.” I got up and looked at our surroundings. Kids everywhere, a fence, a wall suitable for climbing, a…

“Wall!” I yelled as I ran to it. Cydney followed me.

We started climbing. I made it up, then waited for Cydney, but she was laying on the floor. I heard a chilling, eerie voice that said, “Run.”

THE END

For now…