Alison Deadlands | Wattys 2016

☢ PROLOGUE

Cold was the night as the smoke from the bonfire rose up into the night sky. It was our first camping trip outside of the cities walls; the smell of roasting corn and the warmness from the heat of the cackling flames. As father was chopping down crops from the field, mother sat, tending to the fire. Lily was writing through her usual journal she got from her twelfth birthday, and I was taking small steps towards the cornfields.

"Mom, I'll just go see if there are any better corn crops for dad," I stated simply.

"Okay honey, but be back when I call you for dinner, and don't go too far!"

She said, as she sat next to Lily. I stood and turned away, trudging towards the closest crops. With both my hands, I separated the corn and took my first step through. There wasn't really anything different, its name was just as it is. The crops were high, and surrounding me. It was almost hard to tell where I stepped in first. Then, I heard the rustle of leaves, and an ear of corn swished in a fast motion at the corner of my eye. I squinted at the crop, yet there was only creature so small- I could barely see it. The bug was red, and dotted with evident black spots. I didn't seem to realize I already had been reaching out to touch it. But all of a sudden, the temperature seemed as if it dropped, and the wind gushed almost immediately afterward.

"Weird," I muttered. Right on cue, I heard my mother chime, "Alison, dinner!"

I looked back; luckily I remembered where I had come from. Just as I was about to release my hand from the plant, I heard a gagging noise. It was a mix between a muffled cry and a shout, and the presence came from right next to me.

I turned, curious yet scared, but just to meet a pair of dull eyes and a sickly figure within the shadows, and I knew deep down, it was ready to lunge.