A small thrill passed through Claire as she thought about this. Teenagers weren’t advised to ride the train without adult supervision, especially this late at night. But it would give her more time alone with Joey.
She nodded just as the train pulled up alongside them. That’s odd. She thought to herself. It’s almost as if it knew… She quickly pushed these thoughts from her head as Joey took her hand and pulled her onto the train and into one of the seats.
The train was almost completely empty. But nobody really rides this late at night anyway, she assured herself. The automatic doors slid closed, and the train proceeded forward.
After scanning the car, Claire looked over at Joey, who was smiling at her. That’s when she noticed he was still holding her hand. She smiled back just as the train burst forward in a sudden increase of acceleration. Joey and Claire jerked in their seat, their eyes wide. The lights flickered overhead as the train raced at an unnatural speed.
“What’s going on?” Claire asked, her voice shaky with fear.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Joey answered. He stood and walked determinedly to the conductor’s quarters. He opened the door and disappeared behind it, leaving Claire all alone.
She stared at the door and gripped her seat just as the lights went out. She gasped and closed her eyes, wanting Joey to be there holding her hand. She heard the shuffle of footsteps from a distance.
Her eyes flew open and she asked, “Joey is that you?” One light came on in the car opposite to the conductor‘s quarters. She squinted and saw a figure moving slowly inside. It wasn’t Joey.
Then the light flickered off and she heard horrible hair raising screams coming from the car. She covered her mouth to keep from crying out and tears rolled down her face as she backed away from the car.
For the second time the light clicked on, revealing the figure in the car. But this time, it wasn’t moving.
A choked sob escaped her throat. She had to get out of there.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her from behind and she let out a shrill scream. The hand covered her mouth and she heard Joey say, “Shh! It’s me.”
She turned around and he took his hand from her mouth. “Where’s the conductor?” she croaked.
Joey whispered, “Claire… There isn’t one.”
Fresh tears flowed down her face and she started shaking uncontrollably.
Just then, a light in their car came on, casting an eerie glow. “No.” Claire whispered.
And a ghostly figure proceeded toward them. “No.” she whispered again, clinging to Joey. He held her tightly as the light finally went out, filling the train with complete darkness, and blood curdling screams. Title: Katie Author: Cloey Robertson, 14 Address: 1208 Meadowwood Lane, Oxford, AL 36203 Phone: 310-5956 Division: Middle School, Oxford Middle School Teacher: Alice Abernathy Katie By Cloey Robertson
Jake yanked his hood over his head as he raced across the slippery street. The sky looked ominous and a light drizzle was coming down. Jake knew soon it would begin to pour. He jumped to the curb and landed in a murky puddle. He glanced down at his soaking shoes, swore, and upon looking back up, saw a small girl huddled under a nearby awning. She looked positively terrified.
Jake calmly approached the girl, who stared at him with large glistening eyes. He put on a smile and crouched to where he was at about her height. “Hey there. I’m Jake. Something wrong?”
She sniffled and replied, “I can’t find my mom. She was just here, but then she disappeared.” Fresh tears rolled down her already wet face.
Jake felt his heart swell with sympathy. He glanced at his watch. It was only 5:48. He didn’t have to be home for a few more hours. He looked back at the girl and asked, “Would you like me to help you find your mommy?”
All the girl could do was nod. Jake offered his hand, and she quickly took it. Jake flinched. Her grip was surprisingly strong. The girl started pulling him up the street when he randomly asked, “What’s your name?”
After she looked up at him and answered, “Katie,” a strange smile appeared on her face, and a reddish glint seemed to flash in her eyes. Despite these oddities, Jake smiled back to the girl. But the smile was forced.
Katie seemed to know where she was going, which was a little weird for a girl so young. But Jake didn’t question her when she led him from street to street, glancing around in hopes of seeing her mother’s smiling face. Suddenly Katie stopped at the entrance of an old store. Jake scanned the empty street. Every shop seemed to be closed down and cars looked abandoned in their parking spaces. Something wasn’t right.
Then Katie pointed and exclaimed, “Look Jake!” Jake squinted, but couldn’t find what she was supposedly pointing at.
“What?” he began, but was cut off when Katie let go of his hand and bolted down the street.
“Katie!” he exclaimed. He raced after her, but she had a pretty good head start. She glanced back at him with a mischievous smile on her face as she veered into a dark alley. Jake skidded to a stop as he reached the narrow entrance, and stepped in. Just then the sky dropped an ocean of rain. He pulled his umbrella from his pocket and opened it up, squinting in the darkness.
“Katie. This isn’t funny!” he yelled. And he heard small giggles that slowly turned into deep unearthly laughter.
Finally, he froze and croaked, “Katie?” His eyes were wide with fear. What was going on? And suddenly something grabbed him roughly, and his screams were mixed with the harsh laughter of a monstrous creature as Jake’s umbrella rolled out of the alley.
