The Golden Spiral Vol. 3 (1-50)

THE GOLDEN SP RAL

C O N T E N T S

Cover

by: Bronwn Jackson

Echoes

by: Joshua Johnson

Thanks to Her

by: Addison Lloyd

Love Burns

by: Milan Jovingo

Gentle Understanding

by: Kaitlin Holland

The Room

by: Alana Lee

The Garden

by: Edward Kenyon

Lost in the Maze

by: Andrew Camp

La Llorona and El Cucuy

by: Yahaira DeJesus

ECHOES ECHOES ECHOES

Deep within the northern stretch of the forest, forever shrouded by the blanket of dusk, lies a lone cave. The cave once yielded prosperity to generations of spelunkers and explorers who found veins upon veins of precious resources; a plethora of gold, rhodium, platinum, and ruthenium lined the walls of the maze-like cavern. And then one day, the explorers dug too deep. They found monsters, horrific beings that lived within the cavern since time unthinkable. All but three perished within the cave, and only one was spared their sanity enough to retell the horrifying experiences that took place within that godforsaken cavern. Even so, he could only recall in vague flashes of memory, with most of his recollection unconsciously obscured by trauma. The man, shortly after the other two survivors succumbed to injury and mental instability, took his own life in a psychiatric hospital. That cave is a taboo, a curse, an antithesis to life, if you would. Venturing within it, or even close to it, is heavily unadvised.

“Are you guys seriously saying we should explore the cave?” A young girl asked her friends. One of her friends turned around to face her,

“Well, yeah, Lilac, that cave looks dope.” Lilac’s friend plainly replied.

Lilac scoffed, “Did you guys just zone out when we were talking to that park ranger? People died in that cave.”

Lilac’s friend sighed, “Don’t tell me you believe what that guy said, he’s obviously on his deathbed.” Lilac gasped at her friend, her face aghast with surprise.

“Ray! Why would you say that?!”

Ray threw up his hands as he glanced back at Lilac, “What?! That guy had more wrinkles than I had excuses for skipping Biology.” The girl next to Ray snorted at Ray’s joke, a smile of validation spread across Ray’s face.

Lilac turned to the girl, “C’mon, Adeline, help me even out the stupidity in this group.” Adeline shrugged and looked back to where they were slowly hiking to.

“Sorry Lilac, I know that the park ranger advised us against the cave, but he did look like he left most of his marbles at home in his denture glass.” Lilac looked at both of her friends in disappointment as they turned from her and continued towards the cave. She turned back to where they had come from, the beginning of the woods wasn’t too far from here. She could still see where the golden-painted leaves draped over the loosely kept pathway through the forest, the brightly colored autumn leaves decorating the dirt road that cut through the middle of the forest like a sharpened blade.

Lilac then turned back towards her friends, who were walking towards the mouth of the cave. The cave was positioned at the end of the short path through the autumn forest, with its abyssal maw and jagged stone heavily contrasting from the warm and inviting golden forest. Lilac glanced over her shoulder at the entrance to the forest, and with a heavy groan, ran to catch up with her friends.

“I knew you’d cave eventually.” Ray stated to Lilac when they began their excursion.

“Shut up, Ray, I’m just here to make sure you don’t get yourself killed,” Ray scoffed as he fished a flashlight out of his backpack, fiddling with the switch in the obscuring darkness. His thumb eventually located the switch, and as it did, the pitch black void before them melted away, replaced by a beam of light. This light illuminated the scene before them, jagged stone lining the roof of the cave, multiple stalactites and stalagmites forming a pseudo mouth, and a small creature that darted back into the darkness. Adeline gasped and jumped back, tripping over a stalagmite. She fell hard onto the ground, yelping in pain as her right arm haphazardly broke her fall. Lilac rushed to Adeline, trying to move her off her damaged arm.

“Hold on, hold on, it's gonna be okay, I need to move your arm.” Lilac carefully worked her arms under Adeline’s body, trying to move her arm that was now twisted behind her back. Tears began to flood Adeline’s eyes as Lilac moved her arm from behind her back, she fought the urge to shove Lilac off her as the pain kept growing. With her left hand, Adeline grabbed her scarf and bit down hard, her muffled screams echoing around the cave. Lilac eventually was able to move Adeline’s arm into its normal position, no longer mangled behind her body. Adeline’s muted crying died down into a whimper as the white hot pain in her arm began to slowly diminish.

“Okay, now we really need to get out of this cave.” Lilac objectively stated, standing up from her crouched position. She looked towards the entrance of the cave, the outside light softly illuminating a small portion of the cave's interior alongside Adeline, who was resting in a fetal position. Lilac then realized that there was no glow from the flashlight.

"Ray!? RAY!?” Lilac frantically yelled into the cave, her head darting around the small area of visibility they had. Lilac ran back to where Adeline was, aggressively tearing into Adeline’s backpack. Lilac grabbed Adeline’s flashlight, and with one regretful glance at her injured friend, ignited the flashlight and began to make her way into the cave. Lilac carefully maneuvered her way through the mess of speleothems that decorated the narrow cave, darting past columns of stone and other various minerals that lined the path.

“RAY!” Lilac yelled into the cave, her frantic cries for her lost friend echoing throughout the unknown labyrinth. The cave was ludicrously dark, her flashlight cut into the darkness the same way a butter knife cut into a metal pipe. She was only afforded small images of what lied before her, the imposing fear of the unknown only being slightly alleviated by her desperate desire for her friend.

“RAY!” Lilac yelled, “RAY WHERE ARE YOU!?” Lilac screamed, “RAY ARE YOU OKAY!?” Lilac shouted “RAY I’M HERE, WHERE ARE YOU!?” Lilac called out.

“Hello,” said a voice right behind her. Lilac shouted in surprise, tripping over a rock on the ground. She caught herself with her left hand, still gripping her flashlight with her right hand. Her right hand darted out in front of her, pointing the flashlight upwards. Ray stood over her, his face painted in a happy grin.

“RAY!” Lilac yelled, jumping up to embrace her friend. He caught her as she jumped up to him, receiving her embrace with noticeable indifference. Lilac’s eyes went wide as she released Ray.

“Oh no, Ray, we need to go now, we have to go now, we need, Adeline needs, we have to go.” Lilac frantically stuttered, her words slurring over one another in a desperate attempt to piece together the reality of her situation. Ray shook his head, his grinning face seeming to disagree with Lilac’s plight. Lilac stared at Ray in utter confusion, “Ray this isn’t time for one of your stupid jokes, we need to go now, Adeline is seriously hurt.”

“You don’t get it, do you?” Ray asked. Lilac glared at Ray, her overwhelming happiness turning into confusion, and that now transforming into aggressive rage.

“No, I don’t get it. I don’t get why you are being so weird and stupid in the face of possibly mortal peril for Adeline!” Lilac yelled at Ray, Ray’s grin remained painted across his face, shaking his head once more.

“STOP IT. STOP IT. STOP IT.” Lilac screamed at Ray, “STOP SHAKING YOUR HEAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” Ray turned his grinning head towards Lilac, and he began to walk towards her. “RAY, LISTEN TO ME!” Ray kept getting closer to Lilac. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP GRINNING RAY, I’M BEING DEAD SERIOUS.” Ray got even closer. “WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE THIS? WHY DID YOU WALK AWAY WHEN ADELINE FELL?” Ray continued to walk closer.

“Okay, Ray, you’re starting to seriously scare me.” Ray got closer. “Ray, please stop, you’re really scaring me.” Lilac began to back away, Ray began to walk faster. “What are you doing? Why are you walking towards me?” Lilac backed into a wall, Ray got closer. “Please, stop it.” Lilac crumpled to the ground, Ray got closer. “Ray I don’t like this, please stop scaring me, it's really scary in here.” Lilac began to sob, Ray got closer. “I don’t understand, Ray, please, we’ve been friends for years, what are you doing?” Lilac’s tears stained her face, Ray got closer. “Mom, dad, please, help me, I’m scared.” Lilac held her hands in front of her face, Ray got closer. “Please, don’t hurt me, please don’t kill me, I don’t want to die.” Ray got closer. Lilac screamed.

The sun shined through the mouth of the cave, filling the entrance of the cave with a gentle blanket of sunlight. Adeline groaned as she woke up from the clutches of sleep, yawning as she stretched her body. She looked around, finding herself in a cave.

“Oh man, I guess we really did go into that cave, It really did feel like a dream.” Adeline attempted to push herself up, but her right arm failed her. She slumped back onto the ground, straining as her right arm tensed up with pain. “Oh right, I fell onto my arm.” Adeline grabbed onto a piece of the wall with her left arm, pulling herself up off the ground. After finding her footing, she looked around the cave. It was then that she realized that her friends were missing.

Adeline gasped and looked around the cave once more, trying to locate her bag. She found it on the ground next to where she woke up from, but it was missing the flashlight she was searching for. Adeline then noticed a flashlight on the ground closer to the rest of the cave, she scurried over to it and snatched it off the ground. “Huh, that’s odd.” Adeline pondered out loud. “This is Ray’s flashlight.” She flicked the switch, and sure enough a beam of light was expelled from the bulb. Adeline aimed the flashlight towards the rest of the cave, and began to make her way into the cave.

Adeline ventured through numerous intricate stone formations, all arranged in an incredibly claustrophobic manner. As she made her way down a small slope, she accidentally kicked something. The object she kicked caught her eye in the light, it was composed of bright colors that contrasted the dark and gloomy palette of the cave. After moving to flat ground, Adeline shined the flashlight where she saw the object, moving her beam of light through the cramped cave system. Her light and her eyes landed on a bright red object lying on the ground, it was a shoe.

Adeline carefully bent down to pick up the shoe, wary of slipping and falling. She wrapped her left hand around the shoe, raising it up to her face. Adeline gasped as she immediately recognized the shoe, her hand shaking as she struggled to focus the light on it. The shoe, coated in crimson and decorated with abyssal black laces, she had seen earlier this morning. It was the same design as the pair of hiking shoes they saw on display, the same one that Lilac purchased, the same one she decided to wear on their hike, the same one she wore into the cave.

Adeline had to sit down, desperately reaching for the inhaler located in her jacket pocket. She went wide eyed when she realized both her pockets were empty. Beginning to panic even more, Adeline desperately dug through every pocket on her body. After turning up empty handed, she ripped open her backpack. Adeline searched through every pocket, turning each one in and out multiple times. After failing to locate her inhaler once again, she attempted to calm herself and steady her breathing. Her breathing was getting harder, her breaths became deeply shallow and dangerously sharp. Tears began to form in her eyes as she failed to calm herself down, holding her face in her hands.

"Did you need this?” Said a voice emanating from the darkness. Adeline’s head shot up, grasping her flashlight to locate the source of the voice. After successfully turning the light on and pointing it forward, Adeline was met with the sight of Lilac. Lilac had a small grin on her face, and she was holding Adeline’s inhaler.

Both girls sat in silence as Adeline used her inhaler, Adeline eyeing Lilac with grateful eyes the entire time. After she was done, Adeline leaped up and wrapped Lilac in a hug.

“I thought I lost you, oh man, I was so scared.” Lilac patted her on the back, but did not return the hug.

“It’s okay, you’re in good hands now.” Lilac said to Adeline, but her words of comfort slightly confused her. Lilac smiled at Adeline after she released her from the hug, “Come with me, I know a safer place.”

Adeline slowly followed Lilac after she turned to leave. Adeline then looked back in confusion after she realized they weren’t going towards the exit of the cave.

Wait, why aren’t we going out?” Adeline asked. Lilac turned to Adeline, eyeing her with bloodshot eyes. Adeline failed to see this detail, as Lilac was obscured in darkness.

“We are going out.” Lilac replied. Adeline pointed towards the exit, “The exit is that way?” Adeline said, confused. “I think your eyes have been in the dark for a bit too long, Lilac.” Lilac brandished a toothy smile,

“Quite the contrary, my eyes have been opened.” Lilac responded. “You can come with me or you can go back, the choice is yours.” Lilac stated after Adeline began to ask a question, Adeline shut her mouth. Lilac swiftly turned around and disappeared into the darkness, Adeline stood still in confusion for a second, and then began to fumble with her flashlight after she realized Lilac truly did leave.

“What, wait, what are you doing? Lilac?” Adeline shined her flashlight into the cavern, catching a glimpse of Lilac disappearing behind a large rock formation. Adeline swore under her breath, grasped her flashlight, and ran after Lilac. Adeline dashed to the stone wall that Lilac vanished behind, searching for an entrance. She peered her head behind the wall, finding an opening in the stone. The opening was just big enough for her body, Adeline grunted in frustration as she realized the only outcome. Adeline was able to squeeze through the crack in the stone after forgoing her backpack, leaving it to sit and wait on the ground. Adeline carefully maneuvered through the narrow passageway, careful not to catch her arms or legs on stone. After squeezing herself out of the stone, she landed on the hard ground. Adeline stood up and brushed her legs off, looking up at the new area of the cave she was in. Adeline’s eyes went wide, all the air was knocked out of her body in awe.

Before Adeline was a gigantic cavern, it seemed to stretch and expand endlessly in every direction. The cavern was a stark contrast from the rest of the cave, with the dark and gloomy gray palette of the cave replaced by a multicolored hue emanating from all corners of the cavern. The roof and walls were adorned with purple and blue crystals, collected in massive clumps along every square inch of the cavern. The crystals were luminescent, each one providing a gentle glow of light. Adeline then noticed the huge spherical congregation of crystals protruding from the ceiling, creating such a strong emission of light that it created something akin to a false star. Amidst all the wonder that Adeline was witnessing, she caught a glimpse of something in the distance. Her attention was turned to a pathway to her left, an intricate staircase constructed out of stone and crystal. The staircase led downwards, it led to the entrance of a tunnel near the bottom of the cavern. Adeline saw two figures near the entrance to the tunnel, but she was unable to discern much detail.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” Adeline yelled, hoping to get the attention of whoever was down there. Adeline could vaguely spot one of the figures turning towards her, and it was then that she noticed it was dragging the second figure behind it. The main figure dropped the other figure, causing it to go limp onto the ground. It then began to walk up the stairs, towards Adeline. Adeline began to slowly step back, glancing over her shoulder. She looked for the crack in the cave that she entered through, but she couldn’t see anything. Adeline turned back around, and noticed that the figure was right in front of her. She screamed for a split second before her world began to fade away, the last thing she felt before losing consciousness was splitting pain in her head.

Adeline awoke to a pitch black void. She was unable to see anything, with everything that she could see being obscured by a thick blanket of darkness. She began to hear noises, footsteps, within the darkness. Sounds of shuffling and tapping echoed throughout wherever she was. She then noticed that her body was stuck, her hands and legs bound by some unseen force. She then heard footsteps once more, but they were accompanied by a more unsettling noise. Groaning could be heard, the pitch of said groan resembled that of a child. The footsteps then stopped, something could be heard being lifted off the floor. Something of notable weight was picked up and placed somewhere, the groans persisting from whatever entity was in the same room as Adeline.

“What is your name?” Asked a raspy voice, shocking Adeline. Adeline tried to meekly reply, but she found that her mouth was covered with something she couldn’t see or feel. The groaning voice managed a weak reply,

“L-Lilac.” Adeline tried to turn her head in the direction of the voice, but it too was bound by an unseen force. All she could manage to do was to make muffled noises in an attempt to grab Lilac’s attention.

“Ah, very good.” The raspy voice replied, “You are indeed one of the three we were notified about.” Adeline’s head was throbbing with pain as she tried in vain to make audible sounds through whatever was obstructing her mouth, she fought through the pain as she poured all of her lungs into screaming through the obstruction. “Now, please try not to struggle, it will only make things worse.” Adeline stopped trying to break through her bonds, the piercing echo of Lilac screaming was enough to shut her down.

Lilac screamed in absolute torture as the unseen asailant tore into her. Adeline couldn’t see anything, but she could hear in perfect bloody detail. The sound of tearing and ripping that could only be accomplished by an instrument designed for cleaving echoed throughout the apparently small chamber, filling Adeline’s ears with utter terror. Adeline fought against her bonds, as the screaming grew louder, so did Adeline’s desire to break free. Her bonds did not give in, resisting even the most desperate attempts by Adeline with seemingly relative ease. Eventually, as Lilac’s screams grew softer and softer, Adeline declined into tears. Lilac’s dying screams brought a river of tears to Adeline, her fighting attempts growing weaker and weaker. Eventually, Adeline’s body went limp as she gave up all hope of saving her friend. The abhorrent sounds of tearing eventually stopped and were replaced with a single noise, that of something seemingly being smashed against Lilac. She went dead silent, the room suddenly becoming devoid of anything whatsoever

“Well, I did ask her politely not to resist, now I’ve got to clean all this filth off my robe.” The raspy voice said, coldly cutting through the silence. The decaying sound of footsteps signaled that the entity was leaving the room, but a sudden stop followed by a sigh displayed a change of plans. “Oh, I almost forgot about you.” The raspy voice said, followed by sounds of footsteps growing closer to Adeline. Adeline was completely bereft of energy, so she made no movement to squirm or yell as the entity began to undo her bonds. Adeline fell to the floor once the restraints were taken off her limbs, the entity had to lift her onto her feet to keep her moving. Adeline moved to follow the entity, as she was devoid of any other purpose. Adeline suddenly tripped over something on the ground, falling onto her face. “Oh, right, your kind can’t see like we can.” The raspy voice remembered. The entity seemed to have done something, as luminous crystals decorating the roof collectively regained their luminosity. It was then when Adeline was offered a full scope of the room, finally being able to see the room she was trapped in.

Aside from the purple crystals on the roof, it was a cold and gray stone chamber. Crude tables and chairs decorated the sides of the walls, a stone plate with many limp cords behind her seemed to be the location she was confined to. And next to her temporary prison, was a decrepit and stained table. That of which held the severed and mangled body of Lilac, her face smashed into a bloody pulp on the table. Adeline then looked to the entity that held the raspy voice, the one that was currently walking towards her. It was of a seemingly normal human physique, with two arms and two legs on a body with one head. Its four eyes were slanted, almost bug like, with no visible nose on its face. Its mouth was seemingly normal as well, with no visible abnormalities. As the entity stood directly over her and reached out to grab her with its hands, Adeline noticed something odd. Its hands were bloody, very bloody. The blood seemed to be brand new, with bits and pieces of other things on it as well. Adeline looked back towards the table Lilac was on, she didn’t see any sort of knife or cleaving tool. There was no tool involved in the procedure, Adeline realized. She was completely bereft of energy when she felt herself being picked up from the floor, and placed on an adjacent table to Lilac. Her limp body rolled over for a moment, getting a glimpse of Lilac before the entity rolled her back to face him.

“Now, please try not to struggle, it will only make things worse.”

Thanks To Her

Art by: MaryPayton Rogers

Maya absolutely loved Halloween.

She had been looking forward to her 7th Halloween since the beginning of autumn, when the first leaves began to brown and fall. At last, the day had arrived. Maya had long since decided that she was going to be a princess this year. Her mother had taken her to a big department store where she had been allowed to pick out any dress she wanted. She chose the most glamorous one they had on display: a billowy, pink cloud of a gown. Her grandmother had generously bequeathed a rhinestone-smitten play tiara to her as well, and in Maya’s delighted opinion it was the icing on the cake. Now Halloween night had finally arrived, and Maya sat kicking her legs with zeal as her mother curled her hair. “Be patient, Maya,” her mother chided, though she was smiling warmly. The second her mother had finished her work Maya sprang up from her chair like a jack-in-the-box, craning her neck to see her reflection in the bathroom mirror. At the sight of her changed appearance, she gasped with glee. The blush-pink folds of the dress that enveloped her looked just like the petals of a rose. The delicate tiara perched upon her bouncy curls winked and glittered at her, reflecting Maya’s own sparkling eyes in its bejeweled depths.

She dashed to the laundry room and threw on the faded slippers that had been repurposed from her ballet recital. She bounced in anticipation as she waited for her mother to slip on her own shoes and open the door to the neighborhood.

Maya squealed with joy at the sight of her street, now sporting all the markings of the season. Bold orange and black streamers dangled from the eaves of her neighbor’s homes and plastic skeletons ushered trick-or-treaters towards front doors. The jack-o’-lanterns that milled around the street burned with a light that was felt within the hearts of all. Her mother close behind, Maya flew past dense hedgerows towards the nearest house and eagerly rang the doorbell. Almost on command, a smiling neighbor materialized, an older woman bearing a bowl bursting with candy.

“Trick or treat!” Maya chirped. The neighbor chuckled good naturedly and greeted Maya’s mother as she appeared from between the hedgerows.

“Happy Halloween, dear. And what a lovely princess you are!” fawned the neighbor. Maya beamed at this, and offered up her paper sack, which the neighbor promptly filled with a generous helping of sweets.

“Thank you!” said Maya, skipping back through the hedgerows to scout her next target. When she noticed her mother wasn’t following her, she cast a backwards glance to see her still talking with the neighbor. Maya knew that her mother wouldn’t want her to go far, but she didn’t see the problem with getting a head start.

She started towards the next house, where two jack-o’-lanterns stood solemnly on guard, their toothy lips drawn back in permanent grins. Once she successfully reached the door, she rang the bell and a friendly boy answered with a smile.

“Trick or treat!” Maya said, expectantly holding out her sack. She watched with glee as brightly wrapped sweets tumbled into the bag. Satisfied, she walked back towards the street. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to visit a few more houses without her mother ...

Maya shivered.

The night air was crisp and cool, and her dress, no matter how pretty, did nothing to keep her warm. The street was bustling with activity, packs of people chatting and laughing together. They didn’t pay much attention to any stray children they might carelessly trample in their wake. She suddenly felt a flicker of anxiety. Had she gone the wrong way on her way back to the first neighbor’s house? Overwhelmed and missing her mother, she fled and darted towards the curbside. Deciding to seek out a better look at her surroundings, she headed for a withered old yew tree a distance from the crowds.

Maya slumped, shielded by the trunk of the old yew. Tears welled up in her eyes. She was cold, tired, and lonely. She wanted to go home.

“…Are you alright?” a tiny voice piped up. It was so quiet it might have been the wind whispering through the branches of the old yew. Maya spun around only to see another girl who looked about her age standing there. A breeze sent a whirl of fire-colored leaves swirling around her.

Maya quickly wiped away her tears with her hand, embarrassed, but the girl didn’t seem to be teasing her.

“Y-yeah,” sniffled Maya. “I’m okay. W-who are you?”

The girl peered at her with eyes like moonlight. Her skin was as pale as ivory and she donned a long, white gown. Maya thought her obvious ghost costume was impressive.

“I am Evelyn… and you’re Maya, aren’t you?” Evelyn said softly. “Um, yeah, that’s me,” Maya answered, a bit puzzled on how she knew, but said nothing. She got to her feet to stand beside Evelyn, still shivering with cold. Evelyn, however, appeared unaffected. Maya wished she had worn a dress with sleeves, too.

“Did you get lost?” Maya asked, noticing Evelyn’s lack of company, but barreled on without waiting for an answer. “I don't know what to do… I just wanted more candy, and- wait, don’t you have any candy?”

Evelyn didn’t answer, but she wasn't holding any kind of bag, so Maya took that as a no.

“Here,” said Maya, pulling out a large chocolate bar from her sack and offering it to the moon-eyed girl. Evelyn hesitated, examining it with an expression that looked almost confused.

“Please, take it,” continued Maya, smiling encouragingly. Evelyn slowly returned the smile, reaching out a white hand to receive the gift. Her touch was startlingly frozen, and sent shivers playing down Maya’s spine, so maybe she was colder than she let on.

“Thank you…” murmured Evelyn, clutching her plunder and looking at it like she’d never let it go.

Maya opened her mouth to reply, but a voice from behind her snapped her out of the conversation.

“Maya!” the voice called out again. Mother, Maya recognized immediately. Nearly sobbing with relief, she dashed towards the source of the sound and threw herself into the safety of her mother’s arms.

“Where have you been?” her mother demanded, her eyes wide and worried as she squeezed her daughter’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Mama! I won’t do it again, I promise! I wanna go home!” she cried.

“Okay, honey,” sighed her mother wearily, holding tight to her wrist as they began the trek back home. Maya tossed a look back at the old yew, but Evelyn was nowhere to be seen…

…

Maya was exhausted.

She barely had enough energy to change out of her rose-petal dress and rhinestone tiara and into her pajamas before she collapsed in bed. Sure, this Halloween may not have been what she was hoping for, but there was always the promise of next year. She thought that maybe she would go as a pirate. Her mother came into her room and gave her a kiss on the forehead, wishing her sweet dreams before closing the door, plunging the room into darkness.

The last thing Maya thought about before succumbing to fatigue was the candy that she would surely feast on in the morning.

…

Maya dreamt.

She dreamt that she was the regal ruler of a vast kingdom. That she wore a lavish crown of the most lucrative gemstones. Rubies, and sapphires, and

Knock.

Maya, Queen Maya, looked around for the source of the noise. Down her marble halls, in her throne room.

Knock knock.

Her guards, each of which bore the same toothy, pumpkin’s grin, couldn’t tell her where the sound was coming from either.

Knock knock knock.

Where was it coming from? She looked over her balcony and into the streets below, but she still couldn’t find the source of the sound.

Knock knock knock knock.

Maya awoke with a jolt and nearly jumped out of her skin when she noticed the twin moons staring at her from outside her window. Evelyn said nothing, but she continued to rap on the window, growing more frantic by the second. Even though it must have been far past midnight by now, Maya noticed that she was still in costume.

Bewildered and scared, Maya got up from bed, crept unheard through the kitchen and the living room, and out the front door, still in her pajamas. Evelyn had moved and was now standing further away on the deserted sidewalk. She almost seemed to glow from the inside out, washed golden by a street lamp

“Wait up!” Maya whisper-yelled. But Evelyn only ran further. And further. But something about the urgency in her eyes compelled Maya to keep following. This game dragged on and on until they reached the old yew. Only then did Evelyn stop running. Maya’s chest heaved and her lungs burned. The chase had thoroughly tired her out.

W-why,” she gasped, “why are you here?”

Evelyn stared at her for a heartbeat, her moon eyes full. She glanced at something behind Maya, then her eyes flicked back to her own. “Maya… thank you...” she murmured. Flushes of color were beginning to shade the obsidian sky.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Maya squeaked, terror icing her veins. But Evelyn was gone. The girl had vanished completely, leaving behind nothing. Nothing but the crumpled-up wrapper of a chocolate bar.

Maya was trembling. She burst into tears, and sprinted back home as fast as her legs could carry her. But something wasn’t right. A crowd had emerged from their homes to gather around Maya’s house.

Her home was glowing like a live coal. Red and orange tongues leapt towards the sky, and waves of shimmering heat radiated from the burning building. “Maya? Maya!” screamed a familiar voice. Maya’s mother launched herself through the crowd and embraced her daughter. “Oh, Maya, where on Earth have you been? I was worried sick. Someone forgot to blow out their candles, and…” She faltered. “It’ll be okay. Just as long as you’re okay.”

“I’m okay, Mama,” sobbed Maya. “Evelyn… Evelyn saved me.” Maya’s mother’s eyes swam with confusion. “Evelyn? Who’s Evelyn? Did you hit your head?”

“No, Mama, I’m fine.” Maya looked at her home, now utterly consumed by the inferno. “I’m fine… thanks to her.”

Love Love Love Burns Burns Burns

Love is like a flame.

It starts small, a spark, then all of a sudden it is a full fledged fire. All you feel is scorching heat on your clothes, your skin, your heart. It gets stronger and stronger. Brighter and brighter. Until it’s consuming you.

Though nothing lasts forever…

Not fire. And most certainly not love.

Eventually the flames disperse to ashes, taking the heat away. The years go by and the love you once felt dies down to nothing. Just like fire burns to ash.

But just like fire, love can be reignited.

And one day you will feel that same spark that started it all. And the process will repeat itself, Over and over.

Art by: Brooke Taylor

What is life without death?

Among the breadth of the meadows, The reaper does sing.

The moon shall ring with light So gently cast among the ground.

On white marbled floor, Pour thine handprint, a ring of soot.

The quiet of mind, To end would be too kind.

But then what, to only sit among the ripples of water whilst the rain doth pour.

To drown without a crown, Surrounded by life that hath passed by.

Tendrils of tattered cloak pass as mist through the night, The eyes of the watcher know only too well of death.

The smallest of kisses could set free the spirit so capsulated in dark. For what is life without death?

T H E R O O M

“What are you doing, Gray?”

“Getting the selected victims, obviously.”

“I still don’t think this is right. It’s abuse!”

“It’s the name of science, Wilson. This is our only chance to discover how the human brain works.”

“It’s against the law.”

“If you had this many doubts, why would you help me build it?”

“Fine, do what you want and I won’t report you. But, I refuse to be a part of this.”

“Then I guess, dear Wilson, I’ll just have to kill you.” ...

Brin laced on her stiff new running shoes and made a face. She would need to break them in quickly. She kicked them off, switched into her worn sneakers, and headed out the front door. Brin took a deep breath as she began her run, pacing herself to run a few miles. She looked to her left, toward the neighbor’s usually brightly blooming flower bed. Today however, the flowers were dead, their buds hanging limp and dark. A man was staring over them, it was as if he were causing the decay. Brin shook her head and continued her run past the dead flower house. The man looked up to watch her with sinister brown eyes, so dark they were almost black. His mouth moved but Brin’s music was so loud, she could not hear him. She ran on, trying to not pay attention to the shadowy figure slowly approaching behind her.

Sci was cleaning his little brother’s mess. Jordan had spilled all of his spaghetti sauce on their mom’s new carpet. As Sci scrubbed, there was a knock on the door.

“Just a minute!” he called, still trying to exterminate the sauce. Knowing that it was useless, Sci sighed and trudged to the door. When he opened the door, a tall man was standing in frame. The man was pale as snow, yet he had a dark air to him that made him almost a gray shadow.

“Are you interested in Science?” the man asked.

“No, not really,” Sci confusedly answered.

“Oh that’s too bad,” the man said with a smirk. “You might be soon.” He then walked down the path without another word.

“Glad I could help?” Sci mumbled. He then went back to the spaghetti spill. A loud crash of glass sounded throughout the halls. Heavy footsteps crashed toward Sci.

Isla cruised through her usual route on her bike, throwing papers at people’s lawns. Music was blasting through her headphones and she was nodding along. As she threw the last paper in her messenger bag, it hit a man in a pale gray suit. Isla was sure he hadn’t been standing there before. Still, she apologized sincerely. To her surprise, the tall, pale, shadow of a man smiled. He got into a gray sports car and started the almost silent ignition. Isla shrugged to herself and continued on to the paper station. When she arrived, she parked her bright yellow bike on the stand and dropped her bag into the chute to be filled for tomorrow’s job. She started up the building stairs to collect her daily pay. She didn’t hear the dark gray car or the man that stepped out of it.

Now, three children with burlap sacks over their heads and handcuffs on their wrists were crudely shoved into the trunk of a sleek gray Mclaren. As Isla was shoved on top, Brin exclaimed in pain.

“Let us out!” Sci grumbled.

“How many people are you kidnapping?!” Isla gasped.

“Don’t worry,” the man’s gravelly voice assured. “I have what I need now.” He slammed the truck, got back into the front seat, and resumed driving.

The children squirmed in silence, unable to escape. Exasperated, Brin said, “What are we going to do? It’s hopeless.”

“Who even was that guy?” Isla scrutinized.

“My little brother, Jordan, is all alone at home right now,” Sci wailed.

“We’re being held against our will in the trunk of a car and that’s the only thing you're worried about?” pressed Isla. The children laughed half-heartedly and introduced themselves before the car broke to a stop. The sound of a door slamming was heard. The trunk lifted and the children were raised out of the car and dropped into a metal cart that came up to their necks. Brin and Isla flailed their legs, blindly kicking the man. Sci curled into a ball and rolled back and forth.

“Who are you?” Brin demanded.

“All in due time, Brin,” answered he.

"How do you know my name?” squealed an enraged Brin.

“As I said, all in due time. Now be quiet and sit still if you value your life.” After a few more minutes, the cart squeaked to a halt. The bags were removed from the heads of the children, but the handcuffs and cart remained. Brin, Sci, and Isla blinked into the buzz of fluorescent lighting.

“Welcome, children, to The Room,” the man smiled, standing in the middle of the linoleum floor. “My partner, Wilson, and I have been expecting you! Unfortunately, however, he… let’s just say he couldn’t make it.” Gray sat in a stool, close to a dark window and a control panel.

“Psychopath!” Isla spat, trying to break through the tall cart.

“Calm, Isla,” the man laughed. His smile twisted into a suddenly sinister expression. “Now stop talking before I silence you myself.” He then turned his face into a warm smile again. “Allow me to introduce myself. I prefer to go by an alias that keeps me out of the government’s little legal system. You may refer to me as Gray.” The children exchanged uneasy glances before he continued on.

“For years I have been interested in the vastly mysterious expanse known as the human condition. More specifically, how the mind works. Even more specifically, fear. I want to know why people are afraid of things when they are fierce, brave protectors. That is why I chose you!” At this, Brin and Isla curiously eyed Sci, who was anxiously pressed into the corner of the cart. Paying no attention to this, Gray went on, “I became obsessed with controlling fear, meticulously plotting everything to build The Room. I spent time choosing you to be my victim- er- test subjects.” Gray chortled at his use of words. That earned a horrified reaction from the children.

“I will not be a lab rat!” Isla retorted.

“Hmm, I thought I told you to be quiet. Ah, ‘Isla the Mighty,’ I know your fears. I know every corner of your mind. Your big mouth has made you the first subject to my little experiment,” Gray said, almost absentmindedly. Isla gasped. Brin and Sci’s eyes went wide.

“Anyway,” Gray continued. “Where was I? Ah yes, The Room. I built this little sanctuary in an attempt to see a human reaction to fear in a lab that processes every second. By the end of this test run, I will see why you all have something to protect. I will also see the crazy things you do for fear.” Gray laughed maniacally. Sci, as if recovering from shock, managed to get to his feet. Brin was holding Isla down in a poor attempt to keep her from thrashing out.

Gray stood up again and retrieved a remote from his pocket. He pressed a complicated combination of buttons which opened a panel in the ceiling. Down came a rusty, silver claw-like machine. Isla barely had time to scream before the machine snatched her up by the waist and disappeared into the ceiling.

“ISLA!” Brin yelled after her. She then clapped her hands over her mouth.

“Hmm,” Gray pondered. “I think Brin should go next for violating my no talking rule.” Then as if replying to himself, “Yes, a wonderful idea!” Brin whimpered.

“Don’t talk. Just watch,” Gray finished. He pressed another button, this one made the dark window clear. ...

Isla struggled to get free from the claw with no avail. It was strongly clamped around her waist and was moving quickly down what seemed to be an air shaft. There was nowhere for Isla to grab hold of. Before she could think of a new idea, she was dumped into a room. She cried out in pain as she landed directly onto her tailbone. She winced as she struggled to stand. A light kicked on above her, so bright, it hurt.

“WELCOME TO THE ROOM,” a female robotic voice called from an overhead speaker. “PLEASE LIST YOUR GREATEST FEAR.”

Isla didn’t say anything. She simply whirled around as if expecting a robot to attack her.

“THAT IS ALL RIGHT,” the voice continued. “WITH OUR NEW BRAINPICKING TECHNOLOGY, WE WERE ABLE TO FIND YOUR GREATEST FEAR. FIRST, LET US HELP YOU RELAX.”

Isla sighed in relief. A metal wall compartment opened revealing a puffy, pink flamingo float with a hole in the center to sit. The float was pushed out toward Isla.

“PLEASE HAVE A SEAT,” the voice invited.

Confused, Isla sat in the flamingo.

“LAY BACK AND ENJOY THE ROOM,” the voice finished.

I guess this isn’t so bad,” Isla whispered. A drop of water landed on Isla’s head. She looked up, confused. Another drop, and another. Soon, water was flooding the room. Isla tried to stand up but quickly realized she could not feel the bottom. Panicking, she kicked her foot around. Impossible! It had only been a few seconds. She looked around only to see that the previous metal room was gone. It was replaced by the vast expanse of water. She had somehow been transported to the middle of the ocean. Terror set into Isla’s face. A giant, dark creature was swimming around, just under Isla’s foot. Thalassophobia, the overwhelming fear of large bodies of water. She screamed. Her nails dug into the flamingo, popping it.

“NO!” she exclaimed. She was sinking. The flamingo could not save her now. She flailed in the water, too panicked to remember how to swim. She sank, down, down, down, into the dark abyss. Forever.

Gray laughed while Brin and Sci watched in horror. Gray turned to the trembling children as he spoke, “Are you ready Brin? You’re next.” Brin shook her head vigorously, but Gray had already pressed the button.

As the claw wrapped around Brin’s waist, she felt as if the air was being squeezed out of her. She couldn’t breathe. Still, she was carried through the same, slippery, metal air shaft that poor Isla had gone through before. Brin had the advantage of bracing herself for the fall she had seen Isla get hurt from. She managed to land her feet by bending her knees. She was determined to not make the same mistakes as Isla. She would avenge her death. A blinding light shone on her from above and Brin squinted.

“WELCOME TO THE ROOM,” the strange robot-like voice said. “PLEASE LIST YOUR GREATEST FEAR.”

Brin had thought about this. “Nightmares,” she lied confidently. Nightmares couldn’t hurt her.

“OH, THAT IS NOT RIGHT, ” the voice told her. “WITH OUR NEW BRAINPICKING TECHNOLOGY, WE WERE ABLE TO FIND YOUR GREATEST FEAR. PLEASE DO NOT LIE. WE WILL KNOW.”

A different wall panel opened to push a chair that looked like it belonged in a hospital toward Brin.

“PLEASE HAVE A SEAT,” the voice called.

“No thank you,” Brin answered meekly.

“PLEASE HAVE A SEAT,” the voice replied, louder. Brin sat on the chair and a seatbelt fastened over her waist and she could not escape. Brin tugged at it but no progress was made. When she looked up, the rest of The Room had turned into a hospital room. The wooden door opened and in walked a nurse, pushing a white plastic cart. The cart was covered in cloth. The nurse retrieved a clipboard from the counter and stood in front of a nervous Brin.

“I’M AFRAID YOU ARE SICK,” the nurse said. It was the same robot voice from earlier. Before Brin could reply, the nurse walked back to her cart. She lifted the canvas cloth, still hiding the contents from Brin. The nurse pulled out a humongous needle filled with a deadly looking amber liquid. She flicked the needle twice. “I’M AFRAID YOU NEED A SHOT,” she explained calmly.

Brin gave a blood curdling scream. Trypanophobia, the overwhelming fear of medical procedures involving needles. The nurse lifted Brin’s sleeve and pressed the sharp tool through her skin. Brin hyperventilated as the deadly liquid entered her blood stream. The nurse crossed back to her cart and lifted the cloth. On the cart, rows and rows of needles. All exactly identical to the rest. Another scream as the needles magically disappeared from the cart and reappeared in Brin’s chest, stopping her heart beat. Dead.

Gray turned from the window to Sci.

“I’d prefer if you just killed me right now,” Sci whimpered, knowing there was no way out.

“Oh Sci,” Gray said, shaking his head. “Sci, Sci, Sci. Where would be my amuse- I mean lab results?” He laughed again. He then unceremoniously pressed the button to summon the last claw.

With the claw gripped around his waist, Sci shot through the shaft. He was dreading what was to come in The Room. He knew it would be snakes, he had always feared them. He didn’t try to save himself as he was dropped. He sat on the ground, awaiting his fate. His eyes were closed, squeezed shut, not bothering to notice the light that shone brilliantly above him.

“WELCOME TO THE ROOM,” the robot said promptly. “PLEASE LIST YOUR GREATEST FEAR.”

“Snakes,” Sci breathed, trembling.

“EXCELLENT, THAT IS TRUE” the voice answered. “YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT TODAY. ALLOW US TO MAKE IT ALL BETTER.” Sci tensed. A taller metal compartment opened. But instead of a seating tool, in walked Sci’s precious baby brother, Jordan.

“Jodan!” Sci exclaimed. He scooped the little boy up in his arms.

“WHAT AN AMAZING RELATIONSHIP YOU HAVE WITH YOUR BROTHER,” the voice called down.

“DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!” warned Sci. He set his brother down, keeping both arms around him.

“OH DON’T WORRY,” the voice allowed. “YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD. YOU WON THE GAME! YOU CAN BOTH GO HOME AFTER THIS.”

Sci gasped and wrapped his arms tighter around Jordan, who was beaming at him. Some game this had been. As he pulled away to look at him, pain set into Jordan’s face.

“What? What’s the matter?” Sci asked in shock. Jordan clawed at his own throat as if something were around it. Sci watched, rendered useless, as his reason for being’s face turned bright blue. The skin around little Jordan’s head stretched tight, turning a bright crimson. He then fell, limp in Sci’s arms. Thanatophobia, the extreme fear of death or the dying process (including loved ones.) A jar of spaghetti sauce appeared on the ground. It was empty of sauce, it lay on the cold metal floor. Sci arose in agony. He smashed the glass against his head as hard as he could, instantly killing him.

The Garden

There was a blinding, orange flash. Without a sound, Bruio IV shattered. The atmosphere evaporated in an instant. The surface splashed and splintered like glass. Where an burgeoning agricultural world once was, nothing but debris remained. My whole life. My whole life was gone. My friends, my family. But all I could feel was-

“Fitz!” Vanessa’s worried voice over my suit radio broke the traumatic daydream’s hold, “Fitz, are you okay?” I stumbled over my words as the present surged back into my reality, “I- Yes- I’m fine.”

“You just locked up. You stood there like you were in a trance or something,” Vanessa’s concerned face peered at my head through my pressure suit’s viewport, “Maybe we should get you back to the ship.”

“No,” I replied as I managed to regain command of my legs and begin to walk forward, “The sooner we find whatever we’re looking for the sooner we can leave.”

“Fitz,” Zachary’s voice spoke measuredly over the suit radio, “We know how hard this must be for you, if you need to go back-”

“I said I’m fine!” I snapped back, a tinge of anger coloring my response to Vanessa’s fiancé. How could he know!? How could he know what it was like!? I struggled to regain my composure. I knew that Zachary was just trying to help, but his attempts always seemed so hollow. I had met the man less than a week ago. He was not a friend. He was barely even an acquaintance. Why should he care about what I’ve lost? We continued our search in silence.

Most of the surface of my former home had been vaporized by the force of the impact. The remaining stone was melted, but then cooled so quickly in the vacuum of space that it fused into brittle glass. The smooth surface was difficult to traverse, even with our spiked boots. We were in the process of attempting to climb a steep hill, which was actually the remains of a wave of molten rock which had rapidly cooled. Even with our climbing picks, the process was intensive. Eventually, however, the three of us rolled up onto the top of the hill, panting. I was the first to stand up and see it. Looking from the hill, I saw that we were near the edge of this planetary fragment’s portion of the impact crater. The crater was hundreds of miles across, and dozens deep. Jagged glass, fused midsplash ringed the edge of the crater. For a moment, I stood in awe of the magnitude of it. There was a haunting beauty to the scene, a beauty that disturbed me. This was what destroyed my home, my family! And here I was marveling at it. I made a disgusted noise, and slid down the side of the hill toward the crater. Zachary and Vanessa followed wordlessly.

…

It took us another thirty minutes to reach the crater edge. A thorny wall of glass, several hundreds of feet high, stood in front of us.

“Alright,” Zachary announced over the suit radios, breaking the preceding silence, “This is where they told us to look. Vanessa, you’re with me. Fitz, go around to the right and call over radio if you find anything interesting.”

“Understood,” I responded curtly. I turned right and began to follow the glass wall. Zachary’s groupings made sense, but I couldn’t help but chafe at my apparent banishment. I tried to tell myself that there were two ways around and three of us: someone had to be alone. Plus, Zachary and Vanessa were lovers, it made sense that they would go together. It felt so petty, but in my current emotional state I resented Zachary’s decision.

Frustrated, I continued walking.

About ten minutes of uneventful walking passed, with nothing to look at but my broken reflection in the glass wall. Then suddenly, an orange glint hit my eye. Moving closer, I saw a copper-colored object sticking out of the glass. It seemed to be a… hand!? The metal hand was geometric and segmented, with a seemingly infinite number of fine, silvery wires snaking through the joints. Everywhere a joint would not be in a human hand was plated with a copper-like metal, but upon closer inspection, I realized that the plating was thin and entirely hollow- only held in place by the wires. The sight was so strange that for a moment, I did not notice that the hand was connected to an arm, and that arm was connected to what resembled a torso! I activated my suit’s radio.

“Vanessa, Zachary! I’ve found some sort of…” I trailed off, unsure of how to describe the alien object in front of me, “It’s like a robot… almost. It’s hard to describe. You need to see it though, now.”

A few seconds later, a skeptical reply came, “Fitz, this is Vanessa. We can see your location from the suit’s tracker. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Understood,” I replied, my excitement evident from my voice, “I’ll begin to excavate the object in preparation for your arrival.”

“Understood, Fitz.”

With that, I fished my laser cutter from my toolbelt and set to work cutting the figure out of the glass. …

“Oh my god,” Zachary gasped over the short-range radio, “You weren’t kidding.”

I jumped slightly, so focused on my excavation that I had not noticed Zachary approach. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry,” Zachary mumbled, clearly more interested in what I was excavating, “What is that?”

“Something above our pay grade, probably,” Vanessa quipped excitedly, “Either way, I am definitely looking at it in the ship’s lab.”

I had almost fully cleaned all of the remaining glass from the object, and its shape was more clear now. The right arm connected to a torso, which had been sliced in half from below where the left arm would be to the top of the right shoulder. The roughly human-sized torso was comprised of two main geometric copper plates, connected by a wire joint at the hips. Where I assumed legs were supposed to go, silvery wires of various lengths trailed out of openings in the lower torso plate, ending abruptly. Additionally, a mess of wires spewed out from where the torso had been sliced, becoming so thick and tangled as to obscure whatever was inside the torso. The copper plates themselves seemed heavily burnt, but intact. In some areas, an strange iridescent char covered the plates. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. One thing was certain, however: the object was incomplete.

“What do you make of it, Vanessa?” I asked the ship’s scientist.

“I have no idea,” she replied, awe in her voice, “Other than that we need to take it to the ship for a closer look ASAP.”

“You two take it back,” Zachary ordered, “I’ll continue to look around and see if I can find any more of it.”

Acknowledging Zachary’s statement, I picked up the object. Even accounting for the low gravity of the planetary fragment, the object felt impossible light- almost as if it weighed nothing. I had to check to make sure I had actually picked the thing up. Seeing my confusion, Vanessa motioned for me to give it to her. I obliged, and a look of wonder played across her face as she lifted the object with minimal effort. Our minds racing with speculation as to what we were carrying, we began to walk back to the ship. …

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LOST IN LOST IN LOST IN THE MAZE THE MAZE THE MAZE

“Guys, where are you?” I shouted as I ran through the corn maze in search of my friend. There was no answer. I continued to shout as I ran around in the maze, but never once heard a peep. I knew we should have never left the party, but now I needed to find a sign of someone. After running around for a little longer, I stopped to catch my breath. Then I heard it. It was a muffled scream. I ran to the voice hoping to find somebody, but when I got to the voice there was nothing, just a speaker. Then, I heard a crack of leaves behind me, I slowly turned around and saw them. There were two masked figures, one of them carrying a body.

Errr! Errr! The alarm clock shouted at me and I popped out of bed drenched in sweat. It was six o’clock A.M., October thirty-first. My phone buzzed as I calmed down from the nightmare and began to gather myself together. It was my best friend Jake texting me.

“Hey Ryan, you up?”

I replied that I was up as I brushed my teeth and put on some clothes to get ready for school. My phone buzzed again and Jake asked me:

“Are you going to wear a costume today, finally?”

I knew exactly what he was talking about. Jake and I had been friends for nearly all of my life ever since we were very young, and every Halloween he would dress up in some elaborate costume and I wouldn’t dress up at all. I’ve never really been into the spirit of Halloween, I’ve always thought that it was kind of stupid to dress up. However, tonight I was going to wear one to a party. Everyone would be wearing one and it would be weird If I didn’t, plus I wasn’t the most popular person, and not wearing a costume would be going in the wrong direction.

"I’ll wear one to the party, but don’t expect it to be much, and I’m not wearing one to school.” I texted back to Jake.

I brushed my teeth and got in the car to head to school. School was a normal drab Friday. Most people were dressed up in costumes, but some weren’t, including me. I went through each of my classes staring at the clock waiting for it to move and for the bell to ring. The bell finally rang in my fourth-period class and everyone hurried out of the doors of the school. I met up with Jake at my car, we were going back to my house before the party. Jake was already dressed up as Michael Meyers, so he didn’t need to change back at his house. We both hopped in the car and I drove back to my house. My mom greeted us at the door with a warm welcome and we went into my room.

“So, what are you wearing to the party?” He asked as we walked into the room.

I walked over to the dresser in my room, opened a drawer, pulled out an orange jumpsuit, and said triumphantly, “This!”

My friend's face showed excitement as he said, “Oh cool!”

“I figured this would be pretty easy to pull off,” I said as I walked into my bathroom to put on the costume. I walked out about a minute later wearing a costume for the first time since my mom couldn’t force me to wear one.

“We should get going,” I said to Jake, “The party starts in five minutes.” He nodded and we went back out to the garage and got into my car. My mom waved us goodbye and we headed to the party.

The party was at Matt Adam's house, which was close to mine. We made it to the party and knocked on the door. Matt opened the door and said, “Nice costumes guys, come in.” I didn’t know Matt that well, he was tall with brown hair and he played varsity football, I had never played football. He wasn’t even the one that invited me to the party. Anyway, we made our way inside and said hello to everyone that we recognized. Then, Matt came into the room and shouted, “Everyone, I have a story to tell you to kick off tonight. Everyone settle down and listen to the story of the corn maze massacre.” I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I decided to listen just like everyone else. “In 1967 a group of high schoolers about our age went into a nearby cornfield on Halloween night. As they were walking through the maze one of them got lost. The group searched for their missing friend for hours, however, once the clock hit midnight the group began to hear strange noises coming from inside the corn. One by one, the group was taken down until only one was left. The last survivor tried to escape, but he too was eventually lost in the maze. Over the next few weeks, the area was searched, but the bodies of the people were never found.” After the story, everyone was eerily silent, and during the silence, I thought about the dream I had this morning. It seemed weird that the dream was somewhat similar to the story that had just been told. I passed it off as simply a coincidence and continued having fun at the party.

After a little while at the party, Jake and some other friends came up to me and asked: “ Hey, it turns out that the cornfield where the massacre happened is just a couple blocks away and we wanted to go over there just for fun, you want to come?” I thought about the dream again and was a little reluctant to accept the offer, however, it would be fun to go with them.