TeenTober has come and gone. It was a good month for us at the library. We found out that our teens have some hidden talents. A few of them are quite the writers. During the month, we had two contests for our teens.
First was our Short Story contest. We partnered with the English teachers at Magee High School. Students were asked to write an original short story with a creepy feel. The winner of this contest was Kaylee Meacham. Kaylee is an 11th grader at Magee. This is her and her winning story.
The Girl that Lost It
Everyday the voices shouted in her head, random words and phrases going tumultuously around in her mind. But she could do nothing to drown them out. How could she? Others had locked her into a room, windowless and padded, repressed by a straight jacket for her 'safety'. Dangerous, they called her. A lunatic! She had, after all, killed quite a few people. Not of her own free will, of course; it was the demons, the dreaded shadows that had taken residence in the corners of her brain, that made her do it.
There was one voice that stood out from the rest. It had a name, as all voices do, given not by her but by the voice itself. How odd it seemed, a voice that could name itself. But it wasn't exactly common to have voices that weren't your own inside of your head anyways. It called itself Abaddon. It claimed to be ancient, a demon from the biblical days. It destroyed everything, and was known as an angel of the abyss. How did it end up inside of her head? She had been good, well as good as one could get in this twisted world. Before the voices appeared, she was nice and kind to strangers she met and the people she was already acquainted with. She just happened to be with the wrong crowd.
Her friends, ones she could no longer remember, had decided one night to go out into a graveyard and use a Ouija board to conjure any souls that would like to talk with them. They sought answers to questions about life after death. They had asked for details, requested information they shouldn't have desired to know. Isn't the joy of life to live it, not to dwell over what happens when it ends? The thrill of life is to live each day as it passes, not worry about death. But everyone, it seems, has that forbidden curiosity of the afterlife.
They'd managed to get the attention of a supernatural being, but it wasn't one they would have wanted. It was Abaddon. They, however, had no knowledge of that, as the demon tricked them into believing it was just an ordinary lost soul wandering the graveyard. It gave false answers and half-truths to the young teens, wanting to capture their attention to keep them there. But what was its interest in them? It was searching for a vessel, a mind weak enough to pry open and destroy, with a deceptively innocent appearance so that it could wreak havoc upon others in it's vessel's body.
It found it's target in her. She was a perfect Iamb for slaughter. Her mind was so trusting, so kind and good; Abaddon found her perfect for its destruction. The group of teens had become tired, since it was so late at night, and thus forgot the most important rule of the Ouija board: to put the planchette on goodbye. The demon was quick to act and went into the girl.
She froze, then began to scream a blood curdling scream. She collapsed and writhed on the ground, screeching as her mind was torn apart. As abruptly as it began, it stopped. Her friends had circled her, trying to find a way to help, but backed away when she began to laugh. It wasn't a normal laugh, oh no, it was a bone-chilling laugh that could scare the bravest human. It had a deep, demonic sound to it, and belonged to an insane person.
She jolted up, grabbed the planchette, and shoved the pointed end into one of their eyes. It killed that person instantly. Her friends began screaming and running. She moved quickly, with unnatural speed, ripping a head stone out of the ground with superhuman strength. She appeared in front of the rest, stopping them in their tracks. Their hesitation gave her the perfect opportunity to slam the headstone into each of their heads, knocking them to the ground. She began to beat them, breaking bones and causing them to scream in agony. They begged, pleaded with her to stop, asking why she was doing this.
She tried to stop, but it was impossible. She was a prisoner in her own mind, watching as her hands murdered her friends and got covered in blood. She screamed out, tried to pry open the bars on her mental cage, but could not. She sensed the thing in her head, felt it's thirst for blood and its desire to destroy everything it saw. She had no control anymore. It had control now. Abaddon went on, wreaking havoc in the town. It was amused, feeling it's vessels pathetic attempts to escape. Eventually she just gave up.
After having it's fun, it relinquished control back to the girl. She was too broken now to do anything. The police, once she was finally in their possession, declared her mentally insane and sent her to the asylum. They went through all the procedures and threw her into the padded room. There she sat, in the farthest corner of the room, lost in her mind. New voices developed, a defense mechanism to help her cope with Abaddon. Eventually she forgot everything, and started talking with the voices in her head. It was supposedly her brain's attempt at healing itself from the trauma she suffered. But it was too little, too late.
We also had a Zombie Poetry Contest. We had to name two winners because our judges could not choose a favorite! Here they are!
Zombies decaying, what a horrid sight,
The things I've grown used to would give you a fright.
Although a nightmare, I have to admit,
If it was gone, it would surely be missed.
Decomposing lifeless willing predators of the kill,
The shuffling rigor only changed by the thrill.
Hunting, moaning till morning light,
Hope you're boarded for the night.
Tearing flesh from bone to feed their hunger,
but sated they're no longer.
Stuffing their belly no longer a joy, These things I tell you not to be coy.
Heed these warnings form human lips, for they come in the night and your flesh shall be ripped.
A prominent tip I will give,
Trust no one, give no shelter and you shall live.
My arms would hold you,
But I have only one.
My lips would kiss you,
But sadly I have none.
My love for you is hard to explain,
I love you more than I love brains!
It was a good, if somewhat creepy, month at Magee. I wonder what December will bring? Oh, yeah, LEGOs!
School is winding down for the holidays! That means the stress of last minute papers and projects and, UGH, tests! So let go of some of that stress with LEGOs!
TWEENS come by December 9th at 4 p.m.
TEENS, your turn is December 16th at 4 p.m.
We will have snacks for all!
Merry Christmas!
