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Monday, January 6, 2014

Scare me, I dare you! writing contest second honorable mention submission

Congratulations to our second honorable mention submission author Nicole Cushman

her story begins now...



Mumbling
“It’s getting cold.” I heard Emily mutter as we walked through the crackling leaves beneath our feet. “Well maybe you should’ve brought a coat like mom told you to.” I said with a smart aleck tone. She looked up at me and rolled her eyes. With a smirk on my face I looked down at my feel noticing all of the different colored leaves on the cold ground. We slowly approached the front porch of a big dark green house. To the right of the front door there was a skeleton sitting on a bench with pumpkins at his feet. I looked up at the door and before I could even attempt to ring the doorbell the door knob turned and out pooped a zombie mask. “Hey James.” It was my best friend Beef. At least, that’s what we called him. I’ve known Beef from the first day of third grade. He was intimidating at first, but he’s really just a big, sweet teddy bear. “Trick or Treat!” yelled Emily. “You don’t really think that there is any candy left in my house do you?” laughed Beef. “C’mon dude! It’s already getting dark out! Let’s get going, Mumbling Cabin isn’t going to be around forever!”
            “Beef what are you talking about?” I asked extremely confused.
            “Well I just thought we would do something a bit more… interesting tonight.” Beef replied with a smile.
            It was dark, and surprisingly colder. “Come on Beef. Where are we going? I’m freezing.” I asked looking up into the tall, bare trees that surrounded us. “Well maybe you should’ve brought your coat like mom told you to.” Emily mocked as she giggled. “So what is this Mumbling Cabin anyways?” Beef looked down at Emily in her ridiculous fairy costume. “I researched haunted stories that happened in New Jersey. There is this story about a family who lived in a little cabin in the forest, a young couple with two daughters. They say one Halloween night, like the one tonight,” Beef mentioned as he stared down at Emily “The youngest daughter sat up in her bed and started rocking back and forth while she mumbled words that no one could quite make out. One night, the older sister snuck into her room to check on her because she was worried; and the next morning the older sister --- Gone. One by one, family members vanished. Legend has it that the little sister still roams the cabin just waiting…”
            “Waiting for what?” Emily asked with alarm.
            “WAITING TO POSSESS LITTLE GIRLS LIKE YOU!” Beef yelled as he threw his hands in the air. Emily punched him. “Stop it!” she said with a frown. I shook my head and laughed. I was impressed, but felt bad because Emily was horrified.
            The cabin was tiny. I tried to imagine living in it with a whole family, but was too creeped out from the dark, broken down cabin and the horrid smell of rotten meat to even imagine the thought. As we walked up to the cabin I looked down at Emily. I could tell she was scared. “I’m staying out here, James.” She demanded. “Baby” I heard Beef say under his breath. I followed him, looking at my sister until the door creaked closed behind me.
            I pinched my nose shut because of the stench as I looked around. “See there is nothing here. Can we go?” I said talking with my plugged nose. Beef ignored me and walked into the next small room. I followed behind him and ran into him because of a sudden stop. His jaw dropped. “Oh. My. Gosh.” I looked over his shoulder and saw a human figure in a rocking chair that creaked with every movement. It faced towards the corner so I couldn’t see it clearly. I noticed long grey hair. It was an old woman. Beef turned around and ran out the door before I could say a word. Forgetting my fears, I tried quieting my breath as I approached the woman. Opening my mouth I pushed out a sentence and placed my hand on her shoulder. “Are y...you okay…” she looked up at me with cold, black eyes and screeched. I stumbled to the ground and watched as the room went dark. Minutes, maybe hours later my eyes opened, but instead of the old woman I saw Emily rocking in the chair, mumbling.
-end-

view the contest parameters HERE

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