Fiction

"QuadraPeople," by Brantley Roark

The Closet

by Alex Coats

To be honest, Charlie Ethan Farmer was not excited for middle school. Why should he be? Most of the books with good info about junior high said it was horrible. The worst years of most peoples’ lives, apparently. According to these books, middle school is full of bullies, disgusting school lunches, and drama. Specifically girl drama. Charlie tried to steer clear of the opposite gender, but in fifth grade he had to sit next to a girl. And not just any girl, the world’s most annoying, stuck-up, goody two shoes on the planet-and his adversary-Amelia Johnson. You see, Charlie Farmer wasn’t like other boys. He loved being the smartest kid in the grade, and he had to work hard to keep his title. (Thanks to Amelia.) Charlie had also heard that in middle school the coursework was harder, and you got homework. But he knew he was up to the challenge.

Charlie considered himself very well informed about middle school. He thought he had heard everything about it. But Charlie had still missed something important. The one thing Charlie had not heard about middle school was how easy it was to get lost. And maybe if he had heard about becoming astray, he wouldn’t be nearly as hopelessly disoriented as he was now. As he stood in the gray, empty halls of Alexander Hamilton Middle School.

“Ring, ring, ring,” Third bell rang, Charlie was officially late to homeroom. He looked around as he walked through the quiet corridor. It seemed everyone else knew where to go. And wherever that was, Charlie was not there with them. He glanced around a second time, looking for landmarks. There were a couple lunch tables to his right, so he must have been in the cafeteria. That might have been helpful, but he still didn’t know how to get to his first class. Suddenly, Charlie heard a crash from across the buffet line. He jumped. A normal person would have walked away, but then again, Charlie was not normal. He turned and tiptoed towards the sound. Then, there was another terrible noise; this one sounded as if a thousand nails were running across a chalkboard all at once.

“EEEEEERRR!!!” Charlie winced at the volume, and spun around. The eerie cries were coming from behind a pair of shaking light brown double doors with purple light glowing softly from inside. He stepped closer. In Charlie’s ears he could still feel the ringing of the sounds. He treaded forward curiously. What could be causing the noises?

“Young man, I don’t believe you’re supposed to be here,” Charlie whipped around to find a smartly dressed woman behind him. The rattling of the doors had stopped. The lady was wearing an inky suit and matching black heels. She had military gray eyes and a sharp chin that jutted out of her face in a pointed look.

“Uh, I-I-I got lost, Miss,” Charlie stuttered nervously. He wasn’t sure who this woman was, but she had a certain air of authority that a person couldn’t just ignore.

“Hm. Sixth grade I suppose?” Charlie nodded slowly, looking at the tile floor. He didn’t want to get in trouble on his first day..

“I’m Doctor Chaderwolf, school principal. Who’s your homeroom teacher?” She said sugary sweet, dropping the serious act.

“Um… Mrs. Smith,” Charlie replied. He was confused. Why was she being nice to him? According to his research, most principals were horrible creatures who gave out detention, tardy slips, and in some cases, even suspensions! And yet, there was Dr. Chaderwolf, standing right in front of him, smiling the most particular smile with her ivory white teeth. Maybe it was a good thing to have a nice principal, Charlie thought to himself.

“Mrs. Smith? Perfect! She’s the first door of the main wing. I can show you!” Then she grabbed his shoulders roughly, and steered him towards the front of the building. Charlie tried to glance back at the strange doors. But when he turned to peek, Dr. Chaderwolf grabbed his head and pointed it forward. Then she continued pushing him down the hall, smiling all the way.

Once he made it to homeroom, Mrs. Smith printed him the map of the school, and marked where all his classes and locker were, so he wouldn’t get lost again. But the rest of the morning was torture. All of his teachers went through the same slideshow about the school procedures. Each one would ask the class, “Are you tired of rules yet?” Everyone would groan, and the teacher would promise to go through them quickly, and then proceed to take the whole class period to finish the slideshow.

By the time Charlie got to lunch, he was sick and tired of lectures. His mood didn’t improve when he saw what they were having for lunch. With his tray full of… whatever it was, Charlie noticed something. His grade was tall, wait a second, oh no. Charlie’s eyes widened. He had to eat lunch with not just his grade, but also seventh graders. He almost fell over from shock and panic. Charlie took a breath, summoned his courage and walked quickly to an empty table far away from the older possibly-maybe-could-be bullies. The table was located perfectly. It sat next to a window that looked out to the dumpsters. Not the best view, but lots of sunlight. The table was also next to the trash cans, so nobody would want to sit here. If you asked Charlie, this was the perfect table to camp out at. He sat down on the bench, and looked around. He noticed that some seventh grade girls at the table across from him were bickering softly. They seemed to be talking about Charlie! Well, first day, first drama. In all the excitement of sitting with older kids, Charlie didn’t notice the light brown double doors right next to the windows. The same doors that he had heard rattling earlier. This time, they stood eerily silent, no sign of anything strange ever going on.

“Hey, why are you sitting here?” Charlie turned to find a raven haired seventh grader standing beside the lunch table with one hand on her hip, and the other resting by her side.

“Uh, I can move. It’s all yours!” He forced a smile as he picked up his tray, stood and turned to find another spot.

“Wait, are you a sixth grader?” The older girl cocked her head curiously. Charlie paused. Should he reveal his age and possibly his weakness, or act older and keep the upper hand? (If he ever had it in the first place.) He weighed his chances, and turned to face the girl.

“Yeah, why?” Charlie stared at her.

“So you don’t know the story,” The girl nodded, as if everything now made sense. “Name’s Wren. Why don’t you sit down and let me explain?” she plopped onto the table bench, and patted the seat next to her. Charlie got the gesture and sat down; Wren then launched into the story of the custodian closet.

“Okay, so it all started with the school janitor…” As he listened, Charlie got the gist of the plot.

One day the school janitor was mopping the floor clean of puke on time too many, and decided he had had enough. Most staff like him were underpaid, but he always seemed to work the hardest and dirtiest jobs around the school for the cheapest. In his opinion, he deserved a raise, and he was going to get one! He marched right up to Dr. Chaderwolf and demanded a higher salary. But Dr. Chaderwolf got very angry that he thought he deserved more money. When a creature of blood like her gets that angry, they become hungry. And creatures like the principal, eat flesh, blood, and bones. Legend says, Dr. Chaderwolf got so mad that night, she became her true self. And that true self sucked the blood right out of that janitor. Some people say he died, others say Dr. Chaderwolf keeps the old janitor barely alive, locked in the closet for her eternal food source. When she gets hungry, she goes into the closet. And when she does, students can always hear the janitor’s screams, the horrible sounds of life being taken from his helpless body.

By the time Wren finished, a small crowd had gathered around, listening intently.

“Wow. I can’t believe you actually believe that,” Charlie almost laughed. “That’s just a bunch of hubo-jubo to scare kids into following the rules.” He was pretty sure this girl wasn’t a bully, just trying to scare him, but he wouldn’t fall for it. Wren stood up.

“Fine, don’t believe me.” She turned to leave. “Just don’t blame me when she gets you next. She prefers younger blood, and some people are foolish enough to go into the closet.” She looked back at him, then disappeared into the bustling lunch crowd.

The next day, Charlie had a chaotic morning. Capital “C” chaotic. His little sister stayed up too late and was crying her head off. His mom had a work meeting and couldn’t take him to school. He then missed the bus and had to have his dad take off work to drive him. By the time Charlie got to school, he was not in a good mood. And now this. Charlie Ethan Farmer was locked out of his locker.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” Charlie had seen people in movies bonk their heads on their lockers in frustration, but it had always seemed stupid before now. He jangled the lock again, but it was hopeless. At least he remembered the procedure. Mrs. Smith told his homeroom to find a janitor if they ever got locked out. Charlie looked up and down the halls, no janitor. He then headed towards the cafeteria. (They were probably polishing the floor.) But when there was nobody mopping the gray tiles, Charlie felt his feet leading him to the janitors’ closet he had sat next to yesterday. Of course, Charlie thought to himself, There must be a spare key to my locker in there! I can grab it, unlock my locker, and make it to first period on time!

As he reached to open the door, he remembered Wren's warning. Phft, that story was just a joke, he told himself. With his hand on the doorknob, he started feeling a little bit nervous. Actually, a lot nervous. He was about to run screaming to class, when the closet door creaked open of its own accord. Some invisible force seemed to pull him in from there. A chill ran down his spine as the heavy doors slammed shut behind him. He was now alone in the dark closet. Then a lone flickering light bulb flashed on, illuminating the many mops and brooms. Creepy. He turned to leave, then realized he couldn’t. He tried with all his might, but didn’t move anything below his waist at all. Charlie was getting anxious now. Then he spotted an old man in a tattered janitor jumpsuit sitting on some sort of toolbox. The old janitor, a voice inside him spoke. His head was resting on a shelf next to him, and he had a mad look in his eyes, as if staring into space. Charlie just stood there, frozen, wondering if the man had noticed him. Maybe he needed medical help, he looked almost dead. Not that Charlie could do anything, in his paralyzed state. There was the sound of footsteps outside the closet doors, and the man sat straight up. Then he looked Charlie right in the eye, and spoke to him in a rusty old voice.

“It doesn’t hurt after a while. You’ll get used to it.” He told Charlie quietly.

“Huh? What do you mean? What won’t hurt?” Charlie exclaimed, trying to snap the grizzled man out of the strange trance he seemed to be in. The footsteps became louder, along with Charlie’s heartbeat inside his chest. The shoes causing the footfalls were right outside the door, and Charlie could now recognize them as the tapping of heels against the school’s tile floors.

The door slowly opened, revealing Dr. Chaderwolf in her pitch black suit. As Charlie watched, she seemed to morph into a horribly pale, tale creature, enveloped with glowing purple light. He trembled. It was the end.

“Ah, Charlie. Fancy seeing you here. I’m sure you know by now how I prefer younger prey. You can taste their fear..” The creature spoke, and when she smiled, Charlie saw razor sharp fangs pointing out of her mouth. He never even screamed as his blood and soul were taken by the principal.

To this day, the custodian's closet is off limits to students. But every year, the principal is fed by those foolish enough to go near it. The closet itself remains a mystery, for what lies behind the light brown double doors near the edge of the cafeteria, is never seen alive.

Imaginary Friend by Bostyn Steinmetz

Almost every child has an imaginary friend, like Beth. Four-year-old Beth loved to draw, play, and hang out with her imaginary friend Jeffrey. Beth said that he had glasses with tiny frames. He had a mustache, and he also wore an orange suit. When Beth told her parents what Jeffrey looked like, they were not sure why she was so specific about his looks. Most four year old's don’t even know what a suit is. But Beth did, and she also believed everything she was told, even by her imaginary friend Jeffrey.

Beth’s parents noticed something odd in Beth's actions. She was always very tired, and she didn't talk that much. Her parents always heard her talking, but they thought maybe she was talking in her sleep or talking to Jeffery. One night Beth screamed, “Mommy Dad” and her parents ran to her room and she said somebody was trying to hurt her but when they got in there nobody was there. Beth's parents started paying more attention to her, and by that I don't mean they watched her every move, they just paid more attention to her actions and the way she would talk. She was not as happy and she was not as playful as usual.

Beth’s parents looked around her room and found a couple things that were drawings of Beth and Jeffrey that were quite violent for a four year old. In one of the drawings Jeffrey was holding a knife with blood and the other Beth was laying in a puddle of blood with her insides hanging out. Beth's parents were very confused, but they had a plan. They were going to go in her room when she starts talking and listen to what she is talking about and if they felt like it they were going to go in her room. They have not gone in her room because Beth requested that they don't. It began to get late and that is normally the time that Beth’s parents went to bed and right about ten minutes after they normally goot to bed they heard talking. So they went upstairs to Beth’s closed door and listened in, and not only did they hear Beth but they also heard a man's voice, they could not help but go into her room. When they walked in they saw a man in an orange jail suit with tiny glasses and a thin mustache. Beth’s parents asked him who he was.

“I'm Jeffrey, Jeffrey Dohmer,” he said.

The parents looked at Beth and she looked very scared. Beth wanted Jeffrey to get out of the house but every time she asked him to, he would threaten to shoot her, but her parents were in the room so she thought it would be okay, but when she asked Jeffrey shot and killed Beth and her parents and ate their remains and their family and Jeffrey were never seen again. The police have tried to find him but they themselves are even scared, but whatever you do and wherever you go, be careful he might be your new imaginary friend.

The Train by Paisley Mahon

It was just the woods. I was with my sister, Max and our friend, Hadley. We were trying to find an abandoned train that might have some valuables. The train was hijacked 3 years ago and it crashed into the woods. The strange thing was that their bodies were never found. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay in the comfort of our home.

But we went anyway, not looking back to see if someone, or something was following us. “Guys are you sure that this is where the train is?” “Duh, of course Oliver, stop being such a worry wart.” Said Hadley laughing. “Yeah sis.” agreed Max. “Ugh, No cellphone service.” Grumbles Hadley. “Oh, we’re here!” Says Hadley looking straight ahead. The train was very rusty and we had to smash the windows open because the doors were lodged shut.

Once inside we looked around to see dried blood all over the walls and seats. “Gory much?” Joked Hadley. While Hadley and Max joked around I started looking in some small compartments. So far I’d only found some broken watches, ripped shirts, and a couple coins. That's when I heard a shriek and I ran to see what happened but it was just Hadley holding a spider above Max’s face. “Ugh, you guys.” I grumble, shaking my head.

Just then Hadley bumped into Max who elbowed something that sounded like a bunch of toy blocks being dumped out of a box. We looked at each other and went to see what it was. It was a skeleton with rotting flesh on it, that fell out of a overhead compartment. Suddenly a high pitched shrieking noise filled the room, and it got very windy. Soon once it stopped we were in a long, creepy, and dark hallway, with wallpaper peeling off the walls. “Look what you guys got us all into!” I yelled at them.

“Us? You didn’t even wanna come!!” screamed Hadley right back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement, a dark shadow. “Uh guys?” I tried to say, but Hadley was still coming back at me. But the shadow was too fast for any of us to react. It swooped up Hadley and ran off.

As the shadow ran we could hear Hadley’s screams and cries, but soon enough there was no noise and she was gone. “HADLEY!!!” Screamed Max, crying. I was on the verge of tears, but I had to comfort her. “Hey, calm down. It’s probably Hadley pulling a prank on us.” I said, helping her stand. I knew what I had seen but I had to lie or she wouldn’t get up to look for her.

As we walk down the hallway, we pass doors. I don’t know what’s behind them but Max checks. I’m pretty sure it’s dead bodies. Soon enough we reach the end of the hallway, where one last door remains. I go up to open it, and my hand shakes as I’m turning the knob. But I open it because I hear muffled talking that sounds like Hadley’s voice.

I turn the knob slowly so I don’t make noise in case that shadow thing is there. Once the door is open, we see Hadley!! “HADLEY!!!” Shouts Max crying and making a lot of noise. Hadley is motioning the cut it out sign, but it’s too late. The shadow jumps down from somewhere with a knife. Hadley starts crying and the shadow stabs her, blood splattering everywhere. She’s coughing up blood, and crying.

I think Max yells something but I don’t hear. I want to scream and cry but for some reason I can’t. Max grabs my arm as a bunch of eyes with nothing in them but white show up. As we run, I see nothing but Hadley’s dead body. Soon enough we escape, just as the sun is rising, and we didn’t turn back, we knew what had happened.

We don’t know what happened. People say she just went missing without a trace, because a missing persons report was filed. We knew the truth, but no one believed us. Me and Max hope she’s still alive, and healthy. But we’ll never know. All I can say is, Be careful of your surroundings, you never know if someone or something is after you.

"Untitled,"

by Haylie Young

Zambezi Falls

by Ava Northway

My mom, my dad, my sister, and I were going to Big Surf for my 12th birthday party. I was so excited, but I wasn’t excited that I had to go down Zambezi Falls. My Dad always makes me go down Zambezi Falls so I can overcome my fear. But I don’t really think that will happen. I asked my Dad “Why do we have to go down Zambezi Falls first?”

He said, “So we can just get it over with.”

I said, "Okay.” When we got to Big Surf I asked my Dad “Can we warm up in the wave pool first?” I was stalling.

My Dad said, “That’s fine. But we are not staying here for an hour.”

I said, “Okay.” Then 5 minutes later we got out of the wave pool. I knew it was time.

When we got over to Zambezi Falls my heart thumped like the beat of a drum. I begged my dad, saying I didn’t want to do this and please don’t make me. But like all dads he didn’t listen. As my mom and I were going up the stairs I told her I didn’t want to do this and can we go, but she said we have to keep going up the stairs.

When we got up there we stalled and when someone got up there we told them they could go. Then a line started to appear. When that guy was done I knew it was time to go down Zambezi Falls.

My mom and I got in the raft and sadly I had to be in the front so it was extra scary. When we were both on the raft, the lady said all of the safety things and let us go. When she let us go we went airborne. My mom and I both screamed. I got a glimpse of my dad and saw him laughing. I thought to myself What a Jerk. Why did he make me do this? See if he was on this raft with me he would be screaming too. When we went back onto the slide we went all the way up to the top of the other side of the slide. We screamed. We thought we were going to fall off the slide. When we were almost done with the ride, and we were at the bottom, it actually started to be fun. I was a little sad when the ride was over, because when you get to the bottom, it’s actually fun and the thrill of the ride is really what makes the ride fun.

But when we put our raft away I thought if I didn’t go on Zambezi Falls I would probably regret it forever.

There once was a girl named Ellie Jones. She was your typical 13 year old. Ellie was very athletic. She played softball, volleyball, and she ran for the track team. But her favorite sport was basketball. She was good at it too. Ellie was easily the best on the Thomas Jefferson 7th grade team. Ellie was pretty popular. She was the kind of person that everyone was friends with. She was always pretty busy. She always had some practice, game or tournament.

This night was like no other from 6:00-8:00. Her mom dropped her off, she works night shifts so she can't pick her up usually. So she always rode the night bus.

She was waiting outside after basketball. The cool fall air felt good because she was super hot from practice. The bus finally comes and picks her up. Usually she and her friend ride together but tonight she was alone. There was a new bus driver this night. She sat down and got on her phone. She knew she wouldn't miss her stop because she always was sure to look up when the bus stopped.

Ellie was always on the bus for about 30 minutes so when she looked at the time she was very confused because it read 9:00. She wasn't that worried because, after all, it was a new bus driver. But she still called her mom to tell her that she would probably be home a little later. Her mom texted her back because she was too busy to call. Her mom said to ask the bus driver just in case he didn't know where her stop was. So she did. “Are we close to my stop?” she said. He didn't reply. He looked kind of old so she thought his hearing just wasn't that great but as she looked at him more he had this ghostly glow to him.

It was about 9:30 at this point and it was dark. She just blamed her eyes. She had a feeling that something bad was gonna happen, but everyone always told her that she was too paranoid. So she just let it slide.

At 10:00, in a panic, she called her mom crying to tell her what was going on. Her mom picked up and told her to calm down and that she would call the school. She took a couple deep breaths and that kinda calmed her nerves. Her mom hung up to call the school. As she was calling the school, Ellie went back on her phone to keep her mind off things. Her favorite pastime is watching TikTok videos so that's what she did. She was exhausted from practice but that was the least of her worries. Her mom called her again screaming saying, “This isn't funny Ellie! How did you get home?” Ellie was super confused because she was on the bus, so she just asked her mom, “What the heck are you even talking about?” Her mom then replied, “They told me that they sent an email out to all the parents that there was no night bus tonight!” Ellie screamed and dropped her phone because the bus driver started walking towards her. Something she didn't notice before was that the bus driver was covered in blood and had a tire mark on his chest. She started looking around and realized that there were tons of ghosts that looked like they had been in a car accident. She screamed in terror. Ellie Jones was never seen again. But they say if you are riding the bus too late at night you can still hear her screams.

The Bus

by Rylinn Tellman