Haunted Dare

• Yulin He, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2016

It was Halloween.
Celaena sat on a dusty old bench. Chilling October wind whipped across her hearted-shape face, leaving a line of pink splotch. “Are you sure?” Chris whispered, his emerald eyes nervously glancing past her shoulder.
Celaena looked up at the cobwebbed building in front of her and nodded. Chris walked towards the half-destroyed building and gestured for Celaena to follow. There was no turning back now. As soon as Celaena entered the building, she forgot her purpose; the horrific display in front of her was overwhelming; everything here was more rotten than decaying flesh. A shiver ran through her body like an electric current as the dust blurred her vision. She lost control and landed in a puddle of muddy water in a shallow ditch. “Can’t you do something,” Celaena growled in anger, slowly propping herself up, “or are you just gonna stand there like an idiot?”

Chris twitched his eyes and glared at Celaena. “What do you want to do?!”

“You could at least ask me if I was okay!” Celaena yelled back at Chris while searching through her backpack for her torch. “Where did you put the torch?”
“First you beg me to come with you, and then you blame me! What’s wrong with you Celaena Peyton?!” Chris cried and dug his fist into the nearest couch. “I’m out of here!” He turned on his heels and left.

“Fine, then!” Celaena grumbled under her breath as she headed towards the deformed staircase. One moment she was walking on a wooden plank, the next she felt nothing beneath her boots.

Crack!

Bang!

Twist!

Celaena landed on the icy floor with a loud thump. She carefully examined her twisted ankle, finding herself unable to move. As much as she tried to hold it in, the pain came out like an uproar from her throat in the form of a silent scream. “Kill me now!” Celaena complained and rubbed her foot. Slowly, a shadow emerged from the corner of the stairs. Her brain froze, offering no course of action for her trembling limbs. In a split second, the apparition lashed out an arm, striking towards Celaena like a whip. Knowing that this will be the end of her, Celaena tried to drag herself away from the danger, but it was useless. The wind hissed. The floor creaked. Her stomach ached and her heart halted to a stop. Feeling haunted and dead inside, she mumbled to herself, “Come back. It was my fault…Come back Chris Merrick.”

As if the Fairy Godmother had heard her wish, the shadow gently landed its arm on her shoulder. “Cel, it’s just me,” Chris sighed, brushing his shaggy bangs out of his eyes. “What have you been doing? You look terrible!”

“Chris!” Celaena shrieked in relief, grabbing onto his strong arm, afraid to let him go. “I think I had enough. Can we go home now?”

Chris smirked and held her in his arms like a puppy, “Let’s go home.”’