User blog:Thewhy

Sally Red

Some high school kids were hanging out at night. There was this old story from twenty years ago and they were talking about it.

“Hey, who wants to hear a scary story?” asked Duncan Black, the captain of the varsity football team of our school. He was seriously wasted and taking more swigs from his plastic red cup in his hands. I think one more cup of beer and he would be zonked out.

“Sure.” Margaret said and Duncan wraps his muscled arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He planted a big wet kiss right on her lips. She blushes. I sigh heavily. Margaret. Her name was a beautiful sound to my ears. Tonight I was seriously out of bounds though. I usually didn't go to parties, especially one out in the woods. I felt skeptical. I felt brave. If it weren't for Robbie, my friend, telling me that Margaret would be there I probably wouldn't have come. I probably would be home right now playing video games with my little brother or snoring away underneath the warm covers of my bed. But, I’m here so I might as well stay.

“What kind of scary story?” I asked curiously.

Duncan turned to stare at me. He looks at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. To him, he is. I’m not exactly what you call ‘popular.’ Though I’m not very sociable or funny I’m not really a total spaz either. I’m just normal. Average. A guy who can sneakily blend in with everyone. Duncan thought for a minute. He rubbed at the stubble on his chin, and then smiled. “Little Sally Red,” he finally said. He said it loud enough for everyone around him to hear. Kasey, a fellow teammate, crossed over from the other side of the bonfire, stood up and gave Duncan a high five.

“Dude! That story is totally sick!”

There were excited whispers and cheers all around. Margaret looked annoyed. “Ugh! Not that old story again. Haven’t you guys heard enough of it?”

“There’s never enough for my girl Sally.” Kasey said.

“That’s what she said!” someone said and the jocks chuckled in amusement.

I saw Margaret roll her eyes. “So mature guys.”

Now I’m curious. “Who’s Sally Red?” I asked, turning to her. She sighs as if she’s bothered by my question. “Some old silly bedtime story parents use to tell their kids at night. It’s really stupid. Don’t worry about it.”

“Dude!” Kasey said to me. “You never heard of Sally Red?”

“Uh...” I felt the eyes of everyone gathered around the fire staring at me. It made me squirm. My throat felt suddenly dry. I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Na. I've only been here for two months, remember?”

Duncan and Kasey exchange a strange look with each other, and then chuckled. They turned to face me with mischievous smiles on their faces. “Boy, do we have a scare for you.” Duncan said.

“Better get a diaper,” Kasey said smirking. “Dude, this is gonna make you piss in your pants.”

And then they began to tell the story.

One evening a new family moved into the old Victorian house at the end of the street. It had been abandoned for years and sometimes the older kids like to throw parties there on the weekend. Brittney was the first to see the moving trucks rolling down the road. “Who’s that?” she asked.

The other two girls put away their phones and followed her gaze.

“Oh, look someone’s actually moving in that creepy old house!” Jessica remarked. “I wonder who though.”

Flipping her blond hair over her shoulder, Brittney turned to Ashley. “Ash, did your dad say anything about a new family moving here?” She was asking Ashley this question because her dad was the mayor of the town and if anyone knew anything about any new changes happening here it would be her. She was the clique’s little info broker.

“Uh, I think I might have heard him say something about new people moving in. But he didn't really give me any specifics,” the brunette said, scratching her head.

“Gee, what help you've been, Ashley,” Jessica said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to check out that new family,” said Brittney. “Bye.”

“Wait! We’re coming too.”

“What kind of people do you think they are?” Jessica finally asked.

“Personally, I don’t care.” Brittney said.

“Yeah. Me neither. I just hope there are cute boys there.” said Ashley, waggling her eyebrows.

The girls giggled in reply.

“Hey, what if there are three cute guys? You know, one for each of us!” implied Ashley.

“Oh my god! That would be so awesome!” Brittney exclaimed.

“Yeah and we can finally stop crushing on Tommy.” Jessica said.

Sighing, the girls looked at each other and said, “Tommy.”

Thomas Anderson was the cutest and nicest eighth grade boy in their school. All three girls had a major crush on him. But Brittney liked him first so she had all rights over him in the girls’ code of conduct. The only way one of them could make a move on Tommy was if he made a move first.

“So,” Jessica was saying. “What happens to Tommy if there really are cute boy for all of us?”

Brittney shrugged. “Tommy will be old news. He won’t really matter with hotter boys hanging on our arms.”

Ashley smiled. “Boyfriends for all of us?” she said. “Are you girls thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Triple date!” they said in unison.

Then they all laughed at their own silliness.

Turning a corner, they paused in front of the huge open gates. Vehicles were parked in the driveway. The atmosphere had a strange feel to it. “Excuse me.” someone said. They moved aside to let two movers carrying an antique couch pass.

“Where should we start?” Jessica asked.

“I don’t know.” Brittney replied.

“I think we should just walk up to the parents and be like ‘we demand to see your hot sons.” Ashley said.

Jessica slapped her (lightly) on the back and laughed. “No way, Ashley. That would be totally embarrassing—”

Who are you?”

The girls jumped at the sound of a voice. Looking back, they saw a beautiful girl their age with long dark hair and in an old fashioned pink dress with ribbons and puffy sleeves. She embraced a porcelain doll to her chest that looked exactly like her except for one eye missing and the left side of her hair was burnt off.

The girl repeated her question.

“Hello. I’m Brittney,” Brittney said, pointing to herself, then her friends. “And that’s Ashley and Jessica.”

“Welcome to the neighborhood!” they said in unison.

The girl just stared at them. Then she bows and curtsies. “Nice to meet you all! I’m Salinas Muriel Leticia Felicity Alias Red.”

“Uh...” The trio stared, dumbfounded.

“That’s...a very unique name,” Jessica said at last. “Who gave it to you?”

“My dead mother.”

“Oh, sorry for your lost,” Ashley said. She looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here.

The friends were prepared to leave when Jessica went and asked her where her brothers were. “You must be confused. I don’t have any siblings. I’m an only child.” the girl answered.

“Oh, right. Yeah. Well, we’ll see you later...”

“Wait! You haven’t been introduced to Alice yet.” She held the doll out for them to see. “Say hello Alice.” The trio stared at the mysterious girl in disgust. She was talking to the doll as if it were alive. They shuddered. “Well, it was nice meeting you, but we really have to go.” Britney said.

And then the three girls hurried away as fast as they could. They couldn't stand being around the new girl for another minute. When Brittney looked back, she saw the girl muttering to her doll again. Suddenly the doll’s one good eye blinked up at Brittney. Brittney gasped in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Ashley asked turning to her.

“Nothing,” she lied. “It’s just...that girl is such a total freak.”

Jessica giggled. “So true! Who still plays with dolls these days?”

The girls made an ‘L’ shape with their fingers and said, “Losers!”

Giggling, they all said goodbye to one another as they went on their separate ways home. However, Brittney could still feel the glare of the doll’s one eye as she crawled into bed and snuggled underneath the warm covers of her room.

The next day, their math teacher introduced the class to a new student. Not surprisingly enough, it was the girl from yesterday. She said her long name, curtsied, and sat at the back of the room next to Tommy. Britney was fuming.

“How dare that little weirdo go and sit by Tommy? Doesn't she know he’s allergic to freaks?”

“I know right? The nerve!” Ashley said.

“People like her should never exist.” added Jessica.

“Oh, look. Is Tommy actually talking to her?”

Brittney whipped her head around and stared across the other side of the room.

“Hey, you’re family just moved here in that old house, right?” Tommy asked.

“Correct.” Sally replied.

“Cool. I’m Tommy.”

“Nice to meet you, Tommy,” she said, smiling. “I’m—”

“Sally,” he’d finished.

“Huh?” she said confused.

“You’re name is too hard to remember so I took the first part of your name ‘Salinas’ and got Sally. I hope you don’t mind.”

She blinks at him. Gradually, a smile began to form on her face. “Oh, I see. Then I’m Sally.”

“Hey Sally.”

Brittney turned to her friends. “Did you see that? He smiled at her. That little freak!”

“He also gave her a nickname.” Ashley said.

“Ugh! He never did that for one of us.”

“That’s because we already have nicknames.” Jessica said, simply.

“Shut up Jessica!” Brittney said and glared. “That’s beside the point.”

The teacher suddenly clears his throat. The girls looked up. He told the class to take out their math textbooks and turn to page 208. Audible groans erupted in the room. Tommy raised his hand. “Mr. Bachmann, the new student doesn't have a textbook. Is it alright if I share mine with her?”

A shock look crossed Brittney and her friends’ faces.

“Why, yes, Thomas. That’s very considerate of you.”

The trio watched as Tommy scooted his desk closer to Sally’s. They were almost touching now. Brittney gritted her teeth. She was furious. Why is he being so nice to her? She wondered.

Turning a page in her book, Brittney tried to focus on her schoolwork, but she found she just couldn't. She stole side glances at the two instead.

“Why do you stare at me like that?” Sally asked Tommy. “You’re making me uncomfortable.”

Tommy had his chin prompt in his hands. He smiled. “I was just thinking about how pretty you are.”

Sally felt butterflies in her stomach.

After an awkward silence, Tommy’s face flushed red. His eyes drifted to his feet. “We should get started on the next problem.”

“OK.”

Class ended a few minutes later. Brittney stood up from her seat and approached Sally by her desk. “I saw you flirting with Tommy. Do you like him?”

She hesitated. “He is very charming.”

“Is that a yes or a no?” Ashley said, sneering. “Sorry, we don’t speak gibberish.”

“I think he is a good friend.”

“That’s good. And that’s all he better be,” Brittney said. Then she leaned in really close and pointed a finger at her. “Because I liked him first and every normal girl knows if someone crushes on the same guy you like there’s going to be problems. So, if you don’t want that to happen than you better leave him alone.”

The girl just nodded.

Later, Tommy found Sally by the lockers and offered to show her how to open it. As they began to walk down through the halls, they began to talk. Sally said this school was nice unlike her old school. When Tommy asked about it she just shook her head and said not to worry about it. Smiling, Tommy told her he hoped she would stay here for good. He was very attracted to Sally and Sally could sense that. The more they hung out together, the more attracted he became.

Unfortunately, this only maddened Brittney and her friends. They were seething with jealousy and anger.

One day, after class was over, Brittney was beginning to gather her stuff and leave when she saw something out the corner of her eye. “Oh my God!” she screeched. She pressed her face against the glass of the window. Jessica and Ashley rushed to her side. “What is it—?” Ashley paused.

And then they all watched in silence. Tommy was standing under the tall oak tree in the front. He smiled, slipping his arms around Sally’s waist. Sally looks up into his eyes and he bent over to kiss her right on the lips.

The girls’ eyes were the size of saucers. None of them could speak. Then Brittney spun away and the other two followed her outside. Brittney started toward Sally and turned her around. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Huh?”

Sally glanced up and saw Brittney. She didn't notice the other two until they were completely surrounding her.

Tommy raised a brow in confusion. “Uh, what’s going on?”

“Girl talk.” Ashley hissed.

“Tommy, this is private business. Please leave.” Jessica said. He shrugged and walked away, muttering, “Hell has no fury like a woman’s scorch.”

“Look, you,” Brittney said, and pointed at Sally. “I gave you a warning. Stay away from Tommy, or else.”

“Yeah or else!” Jessica repeated.

Sally looked nervously at Brittney and then her doll. The friends could tell that she never been in this kind of situation before. Brittney enjoyed the girl’s uneasiness.

Sally, tiny, and confused at the whole ordeal, nodded her head slightly in agreement. “I understand.”

“Good girl.” Brittney said and patted her head. She smiled as Sally flinched under her touch.

“So that means you've learned your lesson?” Jessica asked, hands on hips.

“Yes and I’m sorry.” Sally bowed. “To show my gratitude I want to invite you all to a tea party at my house after school.”

Sally heard Ashley snort. “A tea party?”

“Yes! It would mean so much to me if you came.”

“OK...”

The girls rolled their eyes. They turned around to make sure Sally wasn't looking. Brittney said “freak” in a low voice. They turned back around to face Sally. “We’ll think about it. You just remember what we said.”

“OK.”

And then they tossed their hairs and shimmied away. Once they were out of earshot, Jessica asked, “Are you really going to forgive that witch so easily, Brit?”

“No. I could never forgive her!” she said.

“So, what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to go to that tea party, of course.”

Later, Brittney, Ashley, and Jessica stood in front a huge wooden door with the ornate knocker. Brittney knocked, waited a second, and then knocked again. Finally, it opened up. Sally smiled at them. She was dressed in a white lace dress that rises above her knees with long sleeved gloves and slippers. Her hair this time is held back by a golden tiara. She looked like a princess.

A smile lit Sally’s face. “Oh, I’m so happy you came!” She goes and hugs each of the girls. They shrunk back in disgust. “You know, Alice said you weren't going to come. But you were wrong, Alice.” She waggles a finger in front of her doll. Brittney rolled her eyes, Ashley sighed, and Jessica put a hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle.

“You know dolls can’t talk, right?” said Ashley.

Sally frowned. “Wrong. Alice can.”

“OK...whatever.” Ashley shrugged.

They walked into a wide entrance with a grand staircase to the side. They paused. “Whoa. Her house is actually nice.” commented Jessica. “Come on you guys! This way!” Sally turned and skipped away. She showed them to a room upstairs and invited them in. Inside, it was mostly empty except for the small table in the middle of the room, the glass bookshelf, and the stove sitting at the corner of the wall. Brittney stared at the many dolls lining the shelves of the bookshelf and shivered, remembering that day. Sally pulled out chairs and told them to sit down at the table. Next, she slowly poured each of them tea in their china cups.

“Are you all comfortable?” she asked.

The girls nodded silently. Jessica opened her mouth to speak. “That’s freaky. Why do you have so many dolls?” She too, was ogling the horror show.

“They’re my family.”

“Oh...okay.”

“Are you okay, Sally?” inquired Ashley. She was snickering. “You know, in your head?”

The three girls burst out laughing.

Sally suddenly remembered the snacks. She went over to the mini oven. “I baked us some cookies,” she said, slipping on some mittens.

“Really?” Jessica said. “What kind?”

“They’re sugar cookies.”

“Oh. Sounds delish.” said Ashley.

Her and the other girls stuck a finger down their throat and pretend to gag. Brittney glared at Sally. “Look at her. She thinks she’s so cute skipping around all happily without a care in the world. She makes me sick.”

“What should we do about her?” Ashley raised an eyebrow at her. She was curious to what plans their clique leader had in mind.

“I know! How ‘bout we splash tea all over her pretty little dress.” suggested Jessica, in a fit of giggles.

“Yeah! We should totally do that and cut off all her hair!” added Ashley.

Giggling, they turn to Brittney to see what she would say. “What do you think, Brit? We should go ahead and do it, right.”

“No. Wait. I have a better idea.” Brittney said. She waves them over and they leaned across the table so she could whisper in their ears. Occasionally she would glance up at Sally to make sure she couldn't hear them. But the girl was happily humming behind the stove. She was adding the finishing touches to the cookies.

The other girls shared a look with each other and smiled.

“Hey Sally! Can we play with Alice?”

“What?” Sally turned around and gasped. Jessica had Alice clutched in her hands. “Nooo! You put her down right now! Alice doesn't like other people touching her.”

Ashley smirked and narrowed her eyes. “Why not? We just want to play with her.”

“Yeah. Don’t be such a selfish brat.” said Brittney.

Sally crossed over the room to Jessica, reaching for the doll but she held it high above her head. “Give her back!” she shouted.

Sally was so busy grabbing at the doll; she didn't notice Brittney come up behind her holding a china plate and she smashed it against the side of Sally’s head. It was so quick and easy and it hurt so much. Sally fell to the ground crying. Her tears were mixing up with the blood running down the side of her face. As she tried to sit up, Ashley sent a heeled foot to the side of her face. The girls laughed nastily as Sally began to cry harder.

“Please...leave me alone!” cried Sally. “What did I ever do to you?” “What did I ever do to you?” Brittney mocked. “You know what you did slut. I told you to leave Tommy alone and you still didn't listen. This is punishment for you sins!” “No!” Sally said, trying to crawl away as they started kicking her everywhere. At the sides, in the head, her stomach when she tried to stand up. It was horrible.

“Stupid whore!” Ashley said. “That’s right, cry!” A hit to her stomach sent her insides churning and she began to feel dizzy. Sally threw up. “Eeeew!” the girls sneered. Jessica raised Alice high up in the air. “Hey, look who I have!” “Nooo!” It all happened in slow motion. Jessica threw the doll forward and Sally saw Alice crept closer and closer to the wall. She shrieked, “Aliiiiiiiiiiiice!” There was a loud sound like glass breaking as Alice shattered against the wall. She watched the little pieces fall to the floor in dismay.

Alice was no more.

“Oops. Sorry,” Jessica said. “Must have slipped.”

Brittney and Ashley began cackling like hyenas.

“You...killed...my Alice.” she whispered.

Before Sally could stop herself, she began feeling a change inside of her. It was a dark, ominous feeling. Like there was another her and she was just itching to get out. She’s felt this before at her old place. She hoped it never returned. The reason why her dad made her move here was to escape what happened in the past. But as she soon realized, the past can sometimes come back to haunt you.

Brittney noticed how quiet Sally had gotten. She smiled. “What’s wrong, Sally? Cat got your tongue?”

Sally didn't answer.

“Maybe she’s dead.” said Ashley.

“Or shell shock.” Jessica put in.

She still didn't say anything.

Brittney began to grow tired. She reached an arm out to her. “Say something—!”

“Ahhhhhhhh!” she screamed.

Sally had suddenly turned around, and with the speed of a striking snake, the dark tendrils of her hair shot out and wrapped around Brittney’s ankle and held her upside down. Her arms hung loose beneath her. Sally’s eyes were glowing red. “Say your prayers!” she said and flung Brittney’s body against the wall. Hard. She huffed loudly. There was the unmistakable sound of bones snapping in her back. Her spine’s been damaged. She’s not going to live to walk again. The other two girls shrieked in panic. Sally turned her attention to them. “Play time’s over!” she shouted. Ashley screamed as another tendril snaked across the air and coiled itself around her throat. Her eyes widen as it squeezed and forcibly twisted her head all the way around. Sally could hear bones making a crunching noise as Ashley’s neck broke. Her head went limp. Ashley’s body fell to the floor with a loud thump.

Sally whipped her head around and glared at Jessica. Jessica was full of fright. Her knees quivered, her breath raced, her heart beat faster in her chest. “Noooooo!” she said. She started for the door. But when she tried to run, she tripped over the table and fell face first into the glass shelf. She screamed. A huge shard of glass struck her in the eye and out through the back of her head. She died instantly.

“Oh no,” Sally whispered. She lowered her eyes. Her hair is sticky with blood and her clothes are soaking wet. “It looks like I did it again. Daddy will be so mad. But...it was so fun!” She giggled in satisfaction. “Right, Alice?” She bent down by the remainders of the doll and started to pile the pieces in front of her. She frowned.

“Oh, you poor dear. Look, what they've done to you! I wonder if Humpty Dumpty ever had this great of a fall. It seems like I’ll have to try to put you back together again.” She sighed. She’ll have to use super glue to repair her. She got started right away and when she was done, she marveled at her work. “Good as new!”

But there was something wrong...

“Oh, no.” The doll didn't have any eyes now. Sally listened to Alice’s voice in her head. Alice was crying. “Now don’t cry,” Sally said, hugging the doll. “You’re beautiful even without your eyes.”

She was about to say more when she heard the sound of thumping footsteps like someone coming up the stairs. “Tommy.” Sally breathed. He stood in the doorway. His mouth was agape and eyes were huge. He has seen the dead bodies on the floor.

He shrieked and ran away.

“Tommy, wait!” Sally called.

She chased after him in the hallway. “Tommy!” He chanced a look over his shoulder. She was still chasing after him. His heart pounded in his chest. “Stay away—!”

All of a sudden, he tripped over his own shoelaces and went tumbling down into a ball down the stairs. Sally cried out in alarm. She rushed to his side at the bottom of the steps. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Is he dead? Did I kill him? Is he breathing?

She crouched down beside him. She called out to Tommy, but he didn't answer. She leaned over him, and put her ear against his chest. No heartbeat. He was...dead. “Oh, Tommy!”

She took Tommy’s head in her lap and started brushing away the loose strands on his forehead. She was trembling in sadness. A small whimper escapes her lips. She wrapped her arms protectively around herself. She glanced down in misery, tears rolling off her face. “Tommy...”

Her eyes shifted to the left and she saw Alice’s disfigured body smiling up at her. She crawled over to the doll and listened as if Alice was speaking aloud. Alice was trying to comfort her. She was murmuring sweet soothing words. Sally felt her sorrow lift and replace with a strange giddiness. “Oh, how wonderful! You’re absolutely right, my dear.” She picks Alice up and holds her in front of her. “All my friends are here. That’s right. Now we don’t have to be alone anymore.” She smiled happily and began to sing. “La la la.” She twirled around on heel so that her blood-stained dress lifted up like an umbrella. “La la la. Now we can all play together forever and ever!”

“And what happened next?” I asked. I was shivering from the cold now. Duncan looked over at me and chuckled. He thought I was shaking because I was scared. “What happen to Sally?”

“Well, no one knows for sure. But there are few theories as to what happened to her,” Duncan told me. “One of them is that her family moved away to another town after all those horrible deaths of those kids. But some people think that she stayed at that old house and died there.”

“Dude!” Kasey interrupted. “That part is boring. Tell him the scary stuff.”

“I was getting to that, bro. Hold on,” the jock said, annoyed. He clears his throat. “But the most famous theory is that Sally Red still wanders around the streets at night and if she catches you after three-o-clock she’ll stop and ask you a question. If you answer no, she’ll kill you; answer yes, she’ll take your soul and force you to be bound by her side forever.”

I cursed under my breath. “Then how the heck do you avoid getting slaughtered?”

The jock looks at me, then at Kasey, and back at me again. He shakes his head. “This chic is pure evil. There is no way to escape her except don’t wander alone at night.” He gives me the how-stupid-can-you-be look.

“Oh.” I feel dumb.

Margaret stood up. “Well, it’s been a fun time you guys but I really have to go. I have work tomorrow. See you guys later.” Then she grabs her bags off the ground and bent to kiss her boyfriend. “Bye babe.”

“Yeah.” He bobs his head.

“I have to go too,” I said jumping up. “Great party, Duncan.”

He nods slightly and takes a chug of beer.

Margaret turned to me. “Oh, you’re leaving too, Max? Do you need a ride home?” Generous offer but I have to refuse. “No. That’s okay,” I said. I liked Margaret but I wasn't going to be the guy who got beat up by her boyfriend just because I rode home with his girl.

“Are you sure? It’s pretty late.”

“Yeah. My house is not too far from here.” It’s a ten minute walk.

“Okay,” she said, hesitating. She turned away. “You be careful, Max. See you later.”

“Yeah, later.” I waved goodbye to her and watch her car pull out into the road. I was left standing alone in the empty darkness. I sighed and murmured. “Well, I guess I better get going.”

I started heading down the familiar way home, it was getting chilly, and I was in unfamiliar part of the town, so I started to pick up pace because it could be very dangerous at night. There were all kinds of news reports of people getting mugged, kidnapped, raped, and killed at night. And I didn't plan on being one of them. Also, I still had chills from that story I heard earlier. But that’s all it is, a cheap bedtime story, right?

I walked for some time, all the while getting nervous by the second as the huge silver ball in the sky glowed brighter and brighter and my surroundings became more unclear. I kept on going and my path takes me down a deserted street. “Man, my parents are going to raise hell on me when I get home so late.” I said to myself. “They’re probably gonna ground me for the rest of my life and then after death.” I sighed. Maybe I should have taken that ride home with Margaret after all, but I wouldn't dare to upset her boyfriend, Duncan Black.

Suddenly, I could hear faint giggling coming from the shadows.

“Who’s there?” I demanded.

No reply. Then: “La...La...la...”

I whipped my head around.

There’s a giggle.

“Show yourself! I don’t have time for games.”

“Oh so you want to play a game, hm?” I glance over and saw a beautiful girl stepped out the shadows and block my path. She was grinning like the Cheshire cat. My breath caught. Her long dark hair flapped in the wind like a flag behind her, her sharp black eyes bore straight into my soul, and her pale skin glistened in the moonlight. She whispers to the porcelain doll on her shoulder. “Shall we play with him, Alice?”

The doll had an evil smirk on its face. It twisted its headed around and started laughing in this high-pitch creepy voice.

I realized with horror that I was staring at the Sally Red. For the first time in my life I knew how it felt to be utterly, hopelessly alone. “No way. It can’t be...” I said, trembling. “You’re just a silly bedtime story!” I took several steps back and my foot snagged on a rock. Down I went sprawling onto ground. “Stay away from me!” I yelled as she came closer and closer and closer.

“Do you want to play with me?” she asked. Her hair moved around her head like wriggling snakes. A lock of hair encircled my ankle and she started dragging me forward. I screamed as I realized with total despair that I was going to die. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to my family yet or tell Margaret how I feel. I whimpered sadly.

“Hush, little boy, don’t you cry,” she crooned. “Sally’s going to sing you a lullaby.” She opened her mouth wide to reveal rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth. I was hanging upside down now; her lips were pressed close against my ear. “La...La...la...”

I screamed into the night. And that was the last time anyone ever heard of me.