She Lurks in the Darkness

Susie was a little seven year old girl who loved adventure, and strangely, hair. She loved to braid hair and make all kinds of different styles. She had cut the hair off of all her Barbie dolls, and used it to make a bigger braid. Susie was one for adventure as much as she was for hair. She would wander around aimlessly with her kitten, Muffy. Muffy was her best friend that she couldn't live without. She got him for her seventh birthday, and spent all her time with him ever since. Susie took Muffy on all her adventures. Susie wandered through parks and forests and creeks. Her little kitten followed her the whole way, everywhere she went. One sunny afternoon Susie went outside with Muffy trotting along beside her. She wanted to get out of the sun and into a colder, darker place. Susie never liked the sun. It was too bright and it hurt her eyes. So she went on a search for a more comfortable place that was much to her liking. Susie wandered around the streets of Burisville, looking for a place to hide from the sunlight. Susie's parents were divorced a year ago, and her father was given full custody of her. Susie's father had recently joined a cult and her mother left for China. So Susie was forgotten and was left to deal with life by herself.

"Do you know a place we could go?" Susie asked her little kitten. Muffy looked up at her and meowed. He didn't seem to know a place either. Susie hung her head and continued to trudge along. They had been walking for an hour when Muffy sprinted in the gutter and stopped at a wide, open drain. He looked up at Susie, meowed, and looked back at the drain. Susie walked over to the drain and stood over the vent. "You think we should go down there?" Susie asked her kitten. She didn't seem afraid of the darkness below her feet. Muffy gave another loud, encouraging meow. Susie nodded and bent over to pull the vent off. The weather beaten vent did not come off at first, but it was loose and weak. Susie grunted and pulled harder, determined to enter her new haven. The vent wobbled and groaned and lifted from the cement. Susie pushed the vent aside. She turned to Muffy and said, "You want to go first?" Muffy meowed and jumped into the gaping hole in front of him. Susie could hear a faint splash. There had to have been some water down there. "You okay, Muffy?" Susie shouted into the darkness. Her kitten let out a muffled meow. "Okay! I'm coming down!" Susie carefully crawled to the hole and put her legs through. She took a deep breath and lifted her buttocks and slid down into the cold, damp sewer. She braced herself for a hard landing. Susie landed with a thud. Muffy trotted over to her and climbed into her lap. He started to purr as Susie stroked the soft fur on the top of his head. Susie smiled as she said, "I think we are going to like it down here."

Seven year old Kayla lived in the town of Burisville. It was a cloudy Saturday, and Kayla went out to play outside. Soon after Kayla had gotten outside, it started to drizzle, and then rain. Kayla's mother called for her to come inside to dry off, but Kayla couldn't hear her mother over her own singing. Kayla skipped along the sidewalks, humming her favorite tune. A little noise disrupted her singing. She stopped and listened. The sound came again. It was a meow. Kayla stood still and listened again. Another meow! "Kitty?" Another meow answered her. Kayla was alert. She wanted to know where the sound was coming from. She walked quietly down the sidewalk and listened for more meows. And sure enough they came. "Here, kitty kitty!" Kayla sang. "Where are you, little kitty?" More meows filled Kayla's ears. This time she had an idea of where they were coming from. She skipped down the gutter and past a drain. All of a sudden she heard a frantic meow. It was coming from the storm drain she had just passed. "Kitty?" Kayla said. "Is that you?" Another meow beckoned her to come closer. Little Kayla did come closer. She kneeled down by the storm drain, and peered into the darkness. She could not see a thing. Kayla called out again, "Kitty?" There was no response. She called out again, leaning closer to the drain. "Kitty?" Again there was no reply. Kayla stuck her head into the drain. Her long hair dangled in front of her face. Kayla squinted her eyes to try to see. "Kit-" Kayla was disappeared into the darkness.

It was a bright, sunny day in San Diego. It was a perfect day to go to the park. And that is just what the Redding family did. Seven year old James and his twin sister Lily sprinted to the swing set in Woodside park. They swung for a while and they eventually got bored. "Hey kids," Mr. Redding called, "Do you want to cool off in the creek?" James and Lily leaped in excitement and squealed, "Yes!" James and Lily got dressed into their swimming attire and raced to the cool flow of water of Woodside Creek. As they were stepping into the water James spotted a guppy swimming in the shallow water. "Look! It's a fish!" James shouted, pointing at the little guppy. "Fishy!" Lily jumped into the water and started scooping up handfuls of water in an attempt to catch the little fish. Lily's Dad warned her to stay close by, but Lily didn't hear him, for she was too focused on catching that little guppy. Lily splashed in the water and lunged forward. She opened her hands, thinking that she had captured the fish. It wasn't there. All that was in her hand was crystal clear water. Lily hung her head, bummed. But as she did so, she caught sight of another fish! Lily went after it, and the frightened fish swam quickly and elusively down the creek, dogging Lily's hands. "Come here, little fishy!" Lily laughed playfully. "I want to keep you!" Lily laughed as she continued to chase after the guppy, further and further down the creek. The further down she ran, the colder and stronger the current got. Despite this, Lily continued to run after the fish, determined to catch it. The fish swam into deeper water, but Lily could still see it, and she kept going after it. The water temperature had dropped at least twenty degrees, and was very cold. The sun had been blocked by the foliage of the tall trees that loomed over her. It was very shady. "I'm going to get you, fishy!" Lily said. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." Lily sang. The fish swam into what appeared to be, a tunnel, where it was filled half up with water. It was big enough for Lily to swim through, but she could not see the fish anymore. The water was too dark and musky, so was the tunnel. "Where did you go fishy?" Lily asked, peering into the tunnel. She could not see a thing. Lily held her breath and went under the water. She couldn't see anything when she was under the water, either. Lily tried to swim back up to the surface of the water, but something had gotten tangled in her long, blonde hair, and was pulling her down, down, down into the deep, dark water.

Two women in their mid thirties were sitting in a coffee shop discussing the news they had just heard. "Did you hear the disturbing news?" said a plump woman to her blonde friend. "You mean about all the murdered little girls?" the other lady said. "Yes. Isn't that just disgusting?" The plump lady continued. "All with their scalp ripped from their heads' used to make wigs and hair styles!" The blonde shook her head, disbelieving. "And done to so many innocent girls!" Whimpered the blonde. "They say the bodies were dumped and found floating in sewers and drains. And to make matters worse, they haven't even caught the sicko.This whole thing makes me want to vomit." Both women left the cafe with disturbed looks on their faces.

Eight year old Cassie Brown was on a camping trip with her family. It was bed time, and the family dog, Goldie, had not come in for dinner that night. Cassie absolutely adored that dog, so she went out to search for her. She couldn't leave her dog out in the forest where there could be bears or other monsters! Cassie snuck out of her tent and started to call out to her dog. "Goldie!" Cassie shouted. "Come here, Goldie, Goldie, Goldie!" The dog did not answer her, and was nowhere to be found. But Cassie wouldn't give up on her dog. Not on her beloved Goldie. Cassie ran deeper into the forest. She kept calling her dog's name, and every time she called, there would be no response. Cassie was still determined, but she started to worry about her beloved Goldie's safety. She kept running deeper and deeper into the recesses of Green Oaks forest. Cassie continued to call, "Goldie! Goldie!" Something rustled in the bushes in front of Cassie. "Goldie?" Cassie wandered towards the brush as she continued to call out to her dog. "Is that you, Goldie?" The bushes rustled again. Then Cassie heard a faint meow coming from the bushes. "What is that?" Cassie stepped closer to the pile of brush and listened. Again she heard more meowing. "Hello?" Cassie walked even closer to the heap and then stepped on top of it. The brush collapsed and Cassie fell. She fell deep into the trench and landed on her bottom. She closed her eyes from shock, and felt pressure on her stomach. She opened her eyes and saw glowing green eyes staring into hers. They were cat's eyes. There was a kitten on her stomach. A silhouette loomed over Cassie. It was a girl. A year younger than Cassie. The girl smiled at Cassie. "Hello, my name is Susie." "H-Hi" Cassie stuttered. "It's nice to meet you" Susie whispered, stepping closer to Cassie. Susie was holding something sharp and shiny in her left hand. "What's your name?" Susie asked, smiling. "I-I'm Cassie." Cassie answered, breathing hard, still shocked from her fall. "Well then, Cassie." Susie said. "I've got to say, I really like your hair."