"The Field" by Hannah

Chapter 3

October 31st. Halloween. School seemed extra agonizingly long that day. When it was over, the three of us walked home with an extra spring in our step. We were all anticipating trick or treating but it was crucial that we got home before the Dark Warning, of course. Because of this, everyone began trick or treating abruptly after school. At 3:30, the three of us met up outside of Penny's house in our costumes. Jackie was a box of crayons, I was a skeleton, and Penny, of course, was a giant penny. Because Brookwood was a small town, we easily filled our pillow cases in under 30 minutes. Penny had another idea.

"Hey guys! Look at this! A shortcut to the other side of town. It's a short walk and I think there's twice as many houses down there." We found Penny standing on the side of the road, outside of a clearing in the brush. There was a little trail, it winded around a tree and you couldn't see beyond it. Jackie followed her into the woods, but I stood my ground. Penny turned to me. "Aren't you coming?" she hollered. My heart was whispering "Don't do it, Emma! Don't!" I grinded my feet into the gravel, like my teeth were grinding inside my mouth. "I don't know guys. Isn't it dangerous? Like what if we get lost and the Dark Warning goes off?" Penny shook off my words. "Don't worry about it." she replied reassuringly. "I know Brookwood like the back of my hand. We'll be back home in no time. It's a short walk." I hesitantly stepped into the woods and slowly allowed myself to follow them. Every step I took, the voice in my head got louder, and at one point, began screaming. "Turn back Emma!" We walked and walked, occasionally taking other trails. Whenever we came across a fork in the road, Penny always took the road to the right, saying "Right is always right." After walking for fifteen minutes, my nerves were shot. I didn't want to offend Penny and question her navigation skills, but it was getting dark- fast. 

"Penny, it's getting dark. Are you sure you know where we're going?" I asked anxiously, peeping around at the vast, scary forrest around us. The sky was colorless, and the world was grey and dim. The glow-in-the-dark bones on my skeleton costume were growing more luminous. The Dark Warning would be playing soon. Penny turned and flashed a faint smile at me, but it didn't fill the nagging gap of worry in my chest. "I think we're almost there!" she chirped enthusiastically, and then turning fowards, cheered with joy. "There's the clearning! Right there!" About 200 feet away, the forrest broke away. It seemed to be the light at the end of the tunnel. We galloped towards it, relief pulsing through or veins. And then, we just stood there.

For we weren't in town anymore. We were way off the maps. We found ourselves standing at the edge of The Field. 

The silence was eerie. No birds, or trees rustling in the wind. No wind at all, just our breathing and hearts beating rapidly. My body was shaking, I was cold and cowardly, and the air was dark and disturbing. "Penny...where are we?" little Jackie quivered behind me, pulling me closer. Penny was engrossed in the field, you could not see the end of it. It seemed to be infinite. "We're at The Field." she swallowed hard. Jackie whimpered behind me. Suddenly, we heard the noise that we had almost forgotten about, and all of our night mares were becoming reality.

The faint wail of the Dark Warning. It was barely audible, which meant that we had to be very far away from town. The siren was creepy, almost like a nuclear bomb siren. It warned us to take cover before the dark got you. 

"We gotta run." Penny commanded, and she took off into the woods, with Jackie, the box of crayons, hobbling after her in her bulky square suit, I struggled to keep up with them both, but it was really difficult because I could barely breathe. My lungs were burning and I forced myself to stop, and I gasped for breath. "Wai- Wait!" I choked, bending forward. As I regained oxygen, and my wobbly vision straightened, I began to comprehend the situation. For one, I could no longer hear the Dark Warning, or anything for that matter. I was standing alone in the woods. Although it was dark, my eyes could see anything within a few feet of me because of my glowing costume. I had no idea what was ahead of me. Stumbling along, I clumsily treaded down the trail. "Jackie, Penny?" I hissed, hoping that they'd suddenly appear in front of me. But there was no answer, the world was mute, it was as if someone had stuck me in this little cave all by myself. 

But then suddenly, screams. The most blood curdling noises I've ever heard. The high-pitched cries sounded like they were 400 feet away, and towards the sounds I ran. I had to be brave, I had to find my sister and my friend. As I ran towards them, the sounds got louder, and louder. Terror was all over me. I didn't know whether I was running towards death or not. But I just kept running, and the screams were louder and louder, but suddenly, they stopped. I found myself standing in the dark street, I had ran all the way out of the woods. Stunned, I looked all around me, but there was noone there. It was an empty street. Where had they gone? I found myself calling their names repeatedly until tears were streaming down my face. Why was I torturing myself? Maybe they had gone home, and maybe the screams were an animal, or them pulling a Halloween trick on me. I ran home to find out for sure.

When I bursted in through the front door, I was cascaded in sweat, and my drenched skeleton costume stuck to my body. My mother and father, as well as Penny's parents, had been sitting in the den, anxiously waiting for the three of us to come home. I stood in the doorway, panting and crying, just a big hysterical mess.

"Where are they? Where is Penny and Jackie?" 

At that point, I was spitting out words, I just told them the story at one hundred miles per hour. "WetriedtakingashortcutandPennypromisedthatsheknewthewayhomeandweendedupinTheFieldand-"

"Slow down!" my mother halted my hysteric babbling. "Now tell me where they are."

I sniffed, "I heard screams, and that was it. They disappeared." 

At first, my mother went into a state of absolute panic, throwing on her coat, trying to phone police, wanting to find them. But Penny's mother wouldn't let her. She knew that if she went outside, she'd never make it. "Calling the police is no use," She cautioned. "Public works doesn't allow the police to work after dark, it's much too dangerous." My mother collapsed onto the couch, kind of sinking into the cushions and fading off. I knew that she was really worried, I tried to brighten her up. 

"Maybe they're just poking fun."

"I'm sure they're safe and sound somewhere."

But we all knew that we were lying through our teeth.

And that night, I just laid in bed and a thought struck my mind;

"Why didn't I get taken into The Field? Why did I make it home?"