A Dance With The Devil

• Holly Clements, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2015

The darkness always scared the young Hannah. But the stars that covered the night sky like a blanket gave her a feeling of bravery. On the night of the 13th Hannah was feeling practically brave. But sometimes you can become too brave. Like the night Hannah heard a noise coming from outside. Hannah sat on the feather couch watching the bright TV that illuminated the living room. Her focus on the colourful show was soon broken by the sound of her dog continuously barking. Hannah got up from the couch and lumbered to the front door. “What’s there?” She laughed. Mocking the small Labrador that desperately scratched the door. Trying to make its way to the beauty of the outside world. She placed her head on the glass door trying to see what the dog was so annoyingly interested in. The dog barked once more. “Fine.” Hannah replied. She began to slide the door until it was open enough for both her and the dog to slide through without disturbing the surely sleeping neighbours. Hannah watched the now hard to see dog run off into the distance. “Drew! Come back here!” She shouted to the dog. “Drew!” She screamed once more. But the dog had disappeared into the strange, yet intriguing fog. Hannah took a step forward. The crackling of the gravel under her feet. She began walking faster. “Drew!” She continued. “Drew!”
She finally reached a small park two blocks from her house. She saw the white dog shivering in the distance near a large forest. “Drew!” She began to shout running towards the dog. She reached out her hand out to the dog. “What wrong?” She whispered into his ear. Drew continued to shiver in its owners arms. Hannah looked up to see what the dog was so afraid of. A man like figure stood about 3 feet from the pair. Hannah stood, “Get away. Stop scaring my dog!” She shouted. The man took a step closer, causing Hannah to freeze in her place. “Don’t come any closer!” She tried to shout. But fear took her voice away. The man came closer, stepping right in front of the two, who now both shivered in their own skin. “Have you ever danced with the devil?” The man asked with a low voice. Hannah shook her head causing the man to laugh. “Let’s change that.” The man grabbed Hannah’s arm and looked into her eyes. Hannah was shocked as the man’s icy blue eyes suddenly turned blood red. She tried to scream. But she couldn’t. As she turned around to run, her legs were paralysed and she couldn’t move. She stared down to her feet, her eyes widened as she tried to free herself, but she was too late. The man stepped back and admired his now finished artwork. Hannah fell onto the soft grass causing the dog to run in fear of what had just happened to its beloved owner. Hannah laid on the damp grass. Made of stone.