No Hint of Danger

Imagine, if you will, a brisk night wind coming fast across a lake carrying a pungent smell, something you can’t quite identify, but is nonetheless familiar enough to send a shiver up your spine. As it hits the trees, they creak out a somber call in the still night air. Or was that groan something more…human? You notice, for the first time, the absence of tires humming on pavement and you wonder if it’s that late, or maybe just a slow night. The soft tapping of your shoes on the sidewalk is the only accompaniment your slow breathing has as you move towards the warmth of your home, holding thoughts of a warm bed in the palm of your hand to keep the chill away. You don’t notice at first, perhaps because the reality of what you’re hearing is

The low ceiling cowered above and the black plastic chairs formed a restless crowd around me. From my seat, I could smell the acute scent of cleaning fluid, whiteboard markers, and the nauseating perfume of the girl sitting next to me. Like so many other students, she exuded concentration. Her brows were drawn as her hand moved rapidly over the testing booklet, only pausing to reposition herself or cast an almost imperceptible sidelong glance. The effortlessness of her actions furthered my anxiety as I began tapping my foot uneasily against the speckled linoleum floor. Through the dusty shades that hung precariously in front the only window in the room, I could see the outline of a solitary building shadowed by the dense gray fog that clung to the courtyard outside. At that moment, I would have given anything to be able to run and scream at the top of my lungs. I had an inexplicable urge to break free from the confinement of that room and what it

From somewhere in the stillness, she felt a soft breeze on her neck and heard a faint whisper in her ear “Lacey....” A trickle of fear ran down her spine as she gave a furtive glance around the room. She was alone, wasn’t she? Were there vagrants in the area? Afraid and needing to hear a human voice, she called out, “Hello? Is anyone here?”

“Mama, cover doors and windows. Everyone go to the bedroom, and put your masks on,” I directed, calmly. When I got to the bedroom, everyone was huddled around each other, with a white cloth on their face. Suddenly, the room became dark. You could hear the heavy breathing of everyone in the room, yet you couldn’t see anyone. The storm felt like it lasted for days, but only really lasted a few minutes. When I got back to the dining room table, I saw a letter on the table from the bank.

Sunlight leaked from the small hole in the wall. Unlike the ridiculously good weather, ear piercing- screaming, devastated crying and wicked laughter caused goosebumps on Soon-Young’s arms. She lazily rubbed her eyes. Her whole body felt sore- her muscles ached painfully each time she attempted to stand up. Soon-Young blinked her eyes. She wished that she was experiencing a vivid hallucination after what she saw. She realized she wasn’t in home.

Sitting in 5th period, I absentmindedly slid my pencil along the left margin. As the graphite swirled into abstract designs, my mind began to wander. Rain landed on the metal roof, lulling me into a false sense of comfort and security. I felt myself drifting out of hall three and into a soft daydream. A yawn crept up my throat and escaped from my mouth as I continued scratching at the narrowing margin. For a split second, I tuned back into the voice of my Spanish teacher, making sure that I hadn't missed anything important while I etched flowers into my notes. Suddenly, my pencil stopped its steady motion across the page. The blurry sections in the corners of my vision disappeared abruptly, and the formerly calming drumming of rain sharpened

It was a cold foggy Friday night in Summit's Peak. Lauren was walking her six blocks home from her friend Mandy’s house. The streets were deserted, not a sole in sight. Lauren was thinking about her birthday, which was the following day. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t hear the clinking of boots following her only forty yards back. Pulled out of her train of thought when she heard someone cough behind her, Lauren jumped. Realizing she was not alone she whipped her head around to see who coughed, but there was nothing there. “Hello?” Lauren questioned her voice wavering. There was no reply “Maybe I’m just imaging things,” mumbled Lauren.

I woke to shouting and banging on my door. I grabbed my pocket watch from the side of my bed; it read 4 o’clock. Who would be at my door this early in the morning? I thought. My body was dragged from the bed as I trudged along to my front door.

“No, Gabriel, we have to get our bags packed, today's the day,” Said Josie. I sat up noticing the monumental amount of light that was pouring into my room through my window. A few minutes later, I decided that I was ready to get out of my bed. While I was getting up, I quickly realized that I wasn’t ready; I got up anyway. My bones were aching worse than a two day old flu shot, and my head spinning quicker than a hurricane. Once I was ready to go downstairs, I picked up a blanket lying on the floor, I then wrapped it around my half naked body, and I walked out of my bedroom and down the stairs I headed.

The sky was still dark as I got out of my car in front of the school building. The winter morning was silent beyond the crunch of my boots in the snow and the howl of the wind. Immediately after stepping out from the shelter of my car, I was welcomed by the piercing wind, it was relentless. The door was about 30 feet away and had I not been scared of tripping I would’ve run to escape the cold. I shoved my hands in my coat pockets and began my way to the front door. The air stung my eyes each time a gust passed, my nose began to run, and although I couldn’t see for myself, I’m sure most of my face had taken on a red color from the biting wind.

Her eyes struggled to stay open, slowly blinking but never closing. Droplets from the clouds rolled down the windowpane, like copycats of those running down her face. The night was dark with shadows. The only sounds in the house were the plump raindrops falling on the windowsill, the clinking of beer bottles and the sound of her nervous breath. She had to stay awake for she had left the moment he had passed out on the dusty couch in the living room. Her sweaty palms clutched the leather straps of her bag. Her body shook like a small dog’s and the wind made the trees sway like the ghosts of everything she’d ever known. The sound finally came and so did the closing of her bedroom door.

The young student bangs around the kitchen in search of the month old box of Froot Loops he’s stretching out for all its worth. His hands furiously open the stark white linoleum cabinet to the left of the stove and rummages in it for a minute before finding the cardboard box. He sets it down on the cold slippery countertop before shuffling sleepily to the fridge. The cold air that blasts in his face is a sharp contrast from the muggy temperature of his studio apartment thanks to his broken air conditioning. Shaky hands grab the carton of milk and close the fridge door. He bangs around the kitchen once more to find a lone bowl and a spoon in a cabinet because all the other ones are sitting in the sink begging for someone to wash them. The creaking

She couldn’t see inside because of the dirt and cobwebs on the windows. When she turned the doorknob to see if it was locked, the door creaked open as if it had been closed for years. Hesitantly she stepped inside the house and saw a group of people sleeping. As she turned around to leave, the floor creaked, so she ran out of the house, afraid she would wake them up.

Bewildered, she found herself not in the kitchen, but in the attic. For as long as she could remember, her parents had expressly forbidden her from entering the mysterious room. Now she understood why; At the far end of the room, among all of the clutter and jumble, was a door. In the light of day, Avery would not have given it a second glance, but in the half-light that emanated from her feeble candle, the door seemed different; Somehow eerie and sinister. Despite its great craftsmanship, years of wear had nevertheless taken their toll on the once delicate frame, and scratches etched their way across the old wooden panelling. Strings of whispers surrounded her, guiding her to towards the door. Slowly, she reached out one trembling hand, knowing that despite her fears, she must open it. What horrors, what wonders, lay on the other side? Avery pushed open the door and stepped

Through the sun's warm rays and my furnace, both of us were getting cold. I glanced at a window and noticed the condensation starting to freeze. "What the heck?" Shane shot his gaze to me. "What is it?" He asked. "I don't know the windows getting frost on it. Why is it getting so cold?" By the end of my sentence, my breath was visible. "I'm going to check the thermostat. Do you want a blanket?" Shane nodded and I walked off. "Make sure I don't die!" I yelled to him as I crossed to the other side of the house.