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Excellent student writing from the WITS program is published every year in a sleek and stellar anthology. Check out the 2005-06 edition, The Universal Controversial Hive, and buy a copy for yourself or a friend online or at Elliott Bay Book Company! *** In honor of the new year, some WITS students wrote poems of hope. Published here are three selections. Pass
it On
Poem
by a Blue Voice HOPE
Hope. Hope
is something in you, not something you buy at a grocery store on 21st
Ave. Hope is something you have from birth, not something you find on
the streets. Hope looks like a dog prancing around with pride. Hope grows
strong when times go bad. Hope is happy, not bad. Everyone has is. Don't
try to hide it.
*** Five Students Win Scary Story Contest & Meet Stephen King! In honor of Stephen King's visit to Seattle this November, WITS students entered our Scary Story Contest. The five winners got to meet Stephen King and received books and journals from Barnes & Noble. The winning stories are published here. Prepare to be creeped out! Nightfall by Kate Heylman, 9th grade, The Center School Haunted House by Sara Murphy, 11th grade, Ballard High School BEEEEEEEEP by Tess Schooler-Reed, 6th grade, McClure Middle School Order Keepers by Natalie Spitters, 6th grade, McClure Middle School An A+ From Mr. Bradley? by Izabella Vilela, 6th grade, Showalter Middle School
THE DARK GETS TO SOME PEOPLE. WHEN THE SUN sets you never know what could lie beyond the horizon. When the last flicks of autumn gold echo across an endless field you know the end has come. When the harvest moon starts to rise it's like a different world. What seemed so alive in the day now seems so desolate, so... lifeless. What the night may bring nobody shall know. She had heard the legends of the land. About people hiding in the woods, a mermaid in the creek, and of a girl many years ago, she disappeared without a trace, never found. And to her they were as much a part of her as the farmland she had spent her entire life on, the farmland she had never left. The legends seemed as endless as the fields; there was some story for just about everything she could see from her farm. The hills, the trees, the babbling brook, were all woven into a tapestry of legends, handed down from generation to generation. Until one night when that tapestry began to unravel. The night air was crisp, crickets chirping in the background, all illuminated by the harvest moon. From the swing on the porch she could see the entire farm. The farm to her was both a haven and a prison. It was rare that people would come on to her family's land, and even rarer that she would leave it. But as sure as the moon would rise and fall the girl got older. Her days left on the farm were numbered. These thoughts swirled in her head as the moon climbed higher and higher in the sky. Eventually she left the porch to begin the nights rest. She was brushing her hair sitting on her grandmother's antique chest right before bed. Running her spare hand against the heirloom quilt that adorned her bed, feeling the history of the house. When she was just about to fade away into sleep something peculiar happened. The brook that she had always listened to as she dozed off to sleep seemed to stop. The wind rustling through the dead leaves didn't make a sound. The symphony of crickets vanished. No sense of place or time. Silence. And far away, against the shadow of the moon, was a figure. She took off down the stairs and off onto the porch. Whatever this figure was, it was huge. The girl had two choices. Pursue the unknown figure, or run back into the safety of the house. After a few seconds of deliberation she ran off into the night, into the unknown. As she ran toward the horizon where the figure was looming, it seemed to be coming toward her. She couldn't see it, and nothing was to be heard. So she went the direction where she thought the figure resided. Across the wheat field, her calico nightgown flowing in the breeze. But wherever she went the figure seemed just as far away. The girl was just about to give up; when out of the corner of her eye she saw something moving. In the cornfield was a moving patch slowly making its way through. She entered the cornfield with a sense of wary. The corn went far over her head. Once she was in there she would not be able to see around her, she might not be able to find a way out. But still she continued on. The corn stalks brushed against her skin, coarse, thick, she brushed through them trying to get to the other side. When it had seemed like she had spent an eternity in the field, something started to get to her. She began to have the distinct feeling that she was being watched, and then rustling in the area around her. The girl couldn't discern where it was coming from, it was all around. Her skin began to crawl, her heart began to race, she started to wonder if she would ever see herself out of the field. At long last the light of the moon sprang upon her face. She hoped that whatever was in the field behind her would stay there forever. As the darkness of the night progressed on she eventually found herself to the farm's decrepit old barn. The barn was the oldest thing on her property. What her great great grandfather had built with his own hands had now fallen into disrepair. As a child the girl had been warned by her father about this barn, how it was old and fragile, and how you shouldn't go into it. But being pursued by whatever this thing was and being so far away from the farmhouse she decided to rest here until morning. The barn smelled musty and old. The hayloft that once supplied the farm's animals with fodder had fallen apart, providing a view of the midnight's sky in its wake. The stalls that once held horses and cattle were filled with boxes with memories from days past. Which the girl looked through as a source of entertainment that night. Surrounded by unending blackness she read by the light of the harvest moon, casting an eerie orange glow on everything it touched. The boxes were filled with all sorts of family relics. More quilts that her grandmother had made, ribbons from county fairs. But one thing took particular interest to her. It was a journal dated from many years ago, of a girl her age. She did not recognize the name inside of it, but the curious thing about it was that was without question written from the farm. It mentioned the brook, the hills, and the ridges that surrounded the farm. The record spanned for over a year, then one day it just stopped. The last entry seemed like any other day, then nothing. The girl dreamt about what might have happened. A couple hours later she woke up in a cold sweat. She recognized the name in the journal. It was of the girl who vanished so many years ago. Meanwhile the figure on the horizon continued on. by Kate Heylman
Haunted House IT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS TO THIS VERY DAY THAT Melanie Cramsle and her mother had moved into the old house across the street of 34th and Grabble. The house was rather old. At some point it was a nice shade of light blue, but over the years it had turned a horrid shade of who-knows-what color. To go with the hideous color, the house had dusty windows where 8-legged creatures felt right at home. The paint was peeling, there were cracks in the windows, the door was almost off its hinges and the garden was a meadow full of weeds of all kinds. Now of course, the average person would look at this house and probably look appalled at its disastrous state. The only reason Melanie and her Mother moved into this house, was because they had no other place to live. They were low on money. Melanie and her mother moved in during the first week of May. With them was all their belongings and Melanie's Jack Russell terrier, Bobbie. Bobbie was quite the guard dog for his size. That's why Melanie felt slightly better about moving into this new house; she knew Bobbie would protect her from anything frightening. Melanie had enrolled in a middle school a few weeks later. It was about 2 miles from her house. She hadn't been that successful in making any friends just yet. The kids though, wasted no time in telling Melanie all about her new house. "That house is haunted!" "There once was a guy that lived there, a stray dog broke into his house one day and tore him to shreds!" "The man still haunts that house looking for the dog, ready to murder it." Melanie knew better then to pay attention to the kids at school. They were just trying to scare her and were being rather rude. She missed her friends at her old school. But then again, at least she had Bobbie; he would always be her friend. Nothing could come between them. But something did come between them, something that distanced Bobbie and Melanie forever. It was a rare blustery, chilly night. And of course with the house's creaking noises from its old floorboards and walls it made it even worse for Melanie's efforts to go to sleep. She had already gotten up to receive comfort from her mother, but her mother just kept telling her that it was nothing to worry about. She advised Melanie to seek comfort from Bobbie. After all, he was her guard dog. Melanie's mother promised her that if everything was fine, Bobbie would simply lick her hand. Melanie felt better about this and finally got some sleep. At about 11:15 at night Melanie woke up to creaking noises around her room. It was dark out so she couldn't see anything. She put her hand down to where Bobbie was laying. She felt him lick her hand. Everything must be okay, she thought. It's just the storm making the house creak and groan. Again at 11:45 Melanie woke up to the floor boards groaning. As if someone was in the room with her. She put her hand down to Bobbie, not so sure everything was alright anymore. Sure enough he licked her hand, assuring her that everything was indeed, just fine. Melanie took a few deep breaths. She was being silly. She knew the house was old. Old houses make noises. If anyone of anything was there Bobbie would be right on it. Melanie went back to sleep. Yet again at 12:20 Melanie woke up, but not to the creaking and groaning of the floor boards, but a drip-drip-dripping sound. It was coming from her bathroom. Oh, foo! Melanie thought. That darn shower faucet doesn't stop leaking! Melanie got up in frustration, now that this was the "billionth" time she had gotten up because of some fool-hardy noise. Melanie walked into her bathroom, turning on the light so she wouldn't risk tripping over anything. She pulled back the shower curtain and screamed at the top of her lungs. There hanging by a knife was her precious Bobbie, soaking with blood, dripping into the bathtub, running down the drain. A note was taped just to the right of the bloody mess. It read: Humans can lick too... by Sara Murphy
BEEEEEEEEEP! LILLY WAS A VERY DARING AND GULLIBLE 12 YEAR-old girl. She lived in Tacoma with her mom, dad, and two older brothers in a very comfy house on 3rd Street. Her mom warned her about the book called Dreams because it would probably scare her to death. But did Lilly listen? No... While her parents were out having dinner and her older brothers were playing football on X-box, she decided to read the book. It started out with a very naive 13-year old girl named Tracy who lived in a crummy old apartment with her mom. After Tracy came home from school, she did her homework, then watched TV. She was watching "The Simpsons" when the phone rang. Tracy got really annoyed so she picked up the phone, "Hello?!" Then someone on the other line replied in a whisper, "You will die when you least expect it. See you in your dreams." Beeeeeeeeep. Tracy thought this was just a prank call, so she went back to watching "The Simpsons." After a very normal dinner she went to bed. Instantly when she fell asleep she had a horrible dream, worse than having to smell men's shoes after basketball, and was never heard from again. Lilly thought this book was scary at first, but she soon forgot about it. She planned on telling no one that she had read the book, so she then went to watch TV. She was watching "Family Guy" when the phone rang. Her parents weren't home yet and she had forgotten about the book when she picked up the phone, "Hello?" Something on the other line started to breath hard, then whispered, "You will die when you least expect it. See you in your dreamsÉ" Beeeeeeeeep. Lilly would have screamed so loud that your eardrums would have exploded except that she was so frozen with fear that she couldn't make a peep. She was soooo freaked out that she didn't sleep for days, which soon turned into weeks. the doctors at the Mary Bridge Hospital explained that if Lilly didn't sleep she would soon die of exhaustion. Since Lilly was so tired she went to bed. Instantly when she fell asleep she had a horrible dream and was never heard from again. The doctors tried and tried to find out how she had died, but there was no possible way or reason why she died. Everyone was so confused that they were still trying to find out how, a hundred years after her death. Now that you have heard this story, you will die, too. When you least expect it. See you in your dreams. BEEEEEEEEEP! by Tess Schooler-Reed
Order Keepers JULY 23, 1953. "WHAT DID YOU DROP DOWN THERE?" ASKED MIKIO Suzuki as he watched the two kids stand next to the well. "A rock," said the girl, Sara Itou, her face cheerful as always. "It hasn't seemed to hit the bottom yet and we dropped it two hours ago," said Jinsei Itou, Sara's brother. "Strange," responded Mikio. Mikio was new to this town, Orderstin. He had just arrived a week ago. He was staying at the Itou's ranch. August 1, 1953. "This is an eerie town," thought Mikio as he walked past more cheerful faces. He was headed for the library to find out more about the history of Orderstin. When he arrived, he found a book called Orderstin History. However, it did not have all the answers. He searched all the books that had anything to do with the town until, he found an old book hidden at the end of the shelf. "This looks promising," he thought as he brushed off the years of dust from the cover. He opened the book only to find it's pages were blank. He franticly flipped through every page searching for something. Anything! Finally, to his relief, he spotted writing in small handwritten print in the corner of the page. It said, Smiles aren't always happy. This town is not what you think.. Speak the truth and you might escape. You are only lonely souls. You just built your own order world. "What's that supposed to mean?" thought Mikio. "No, it doesn't mean anything at all." As Mikio was pondering this message, he heard something crackle and snap like-the corner of his book was on fire! "What the?" he cried as he flung the burning book onto the old wooden table. The book burned and burned, but the table never caught into flames. Mikio just stood there, gaping at the book. He didn't even hear the occasional wheezy coughs of the librarian in the other room. When the book fire slowly died. The clock was ticking slow seconds. Mikio felt his heart racing but he didn't know why. All that was left of the book now was the ashes. And siting in those ashes, was a faceless doll! It didn't make a noise but Mikio could hear it speaking to him in his head. "Get away!" it said to him in a wispy voice. "Get away while you still can before it is too late to be helped!" Mikio blinked and the doll was gone. August 10, 1953 All the cheerful faces of the town seem to have a false grin on ever since Mikio visited the library. One day while walking down the street, Mikio saw something so twisted he thought he might never see another happy face. Five tall men in black trench coats and sunglasses walked down the street towards him. Quick as the blink of an eye, Mikio hid behind a trash can, but it seemed they knew where he was. August 14, 1953 "They're all watching me." thought Mikio as the two Itou kids smiled at him. It seemed like the town's people and trench coat men, which were called order keepers, or "the O.K." were always staring at him. The O.K. were the only ones in the town that didn't have that strange grin on their face, yet they were the most frightening. That night as Mikio was walking back to the ranch, he saw a very disturbing scene. One of the townsmen broke out of his smiling state and started yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs. "Get me out of here!" Mikio, who had slipped behind a large barrel saw the O.K. come swiftly like ghosts toward the outburst. They almost seemed to be floating the way they moved. When they came right in front of the townsmen, they didn't stop, but kept going right through him. When they had past, the townsmen was gone. August 21, 1953 Mikio woke up in a sweat. He had had a terrible nightmare. He saw one of the order keepers without his sunglasses on. Instead of eyes it had a big, black emptiness where it's eyes were supposed to be. It opened it's mouth laughing and it was just the same. The mouth was filled with that big black emptiness. Three big black abysses, staring and laughing at him. "That's it!" thought Mikio. "I'm getting out of this crazy bin." When he found out his car was gone, he didn't hesitate, but ran out of the town and past the farms. When he passed the last farm, he found himself back at the other end of town. He went back the other way and ended up at the opposite end of the town. There was no escape! August 25, 1953 Mikio had another dream. He was reliving that day Sara and Jensei Itou had dropped the stone down the well and it never landed. "That must be the only way out," thought Mikio, "and if it isn't, whatever is down there is definitely better than this place." When he thought no one was looking, he zoomed out into the field and jumped down the well. Everything went as black as the order keeper's eyes. Mikio awoke in a gray and dismal room. He looked around and saw thousands of people sitting up straight. Their eyes were glazed and they didn't seem to respond. Some people were laying down and they were straight and stiff. Then Mikio realized he wasn't the only conscious one in the room. He felt a chill down his spine and he slowly turned around looking at all those rows of people, the only sound was his feet padding on the ground, and his own shaky breath. There were the order keepers! Their sunglasses were off. Mikio looked straight into the nothingness in place of their eyes. Mikio quickly turned from there strange gaze and saw the people laying down. They seemed to be real. Then, Mikio realized they and no faces. Then he remembered the faceless doll, the burning book! What did the book say? THINK! The O.K. were walking towards him. THINK! Closer, closer ..oh yeah! Mikio shouted as loud as his fear could shout, "YOU ARE ONLY LONELY SOULS! YOU JUST BUILT YOUR OWN ORDER WORLD." The OK screamed a terrible nails-on-chalkboard scream. They drifted toward him and surrounded him. Mikio thought he was a goner. But, then the blackness in their eyes and mouth filled the entire room. Mikio was standing on the doorstep to his lovely house. October 17, 1953 Mikio thought, "Boy, am I sure glad to be out of that wicked place, Orderstin." Mikio laid in his bed sleeping pleasantly. The wind rustled gently through the trees, sirens and traffic could be hear in the distance and in the corner of Mikio's room, a tall man in a black trench coat stood, his eyes a deep black nothingness behind his sunglasses... by Natalie Spitters
An A+ From Mr. Bradley IZABELLA WAS SO PROUD OF HERSELF. SHE HAD spent hours at the library doing research and finishing up her homework. Mr. Bradley, her Language Arts teacher, wanted each student to write about something related to Halloween since it was October, so Izabella decided to write about something scary. She knew Mr. Bradley always appreciated a good story and what could be better than a scary story due on Halloween? She just knew she would get an A, maybe even an A+, she thought to herself. She smiled and then started putting her books into her backpack when she noticed something weird. The library was really quiet, not the usual quiet most libraries are, but creepy quiet. When she looked up she saw that everyone had left. All the people were gone, even the librarian, Mrs. Fickle, was gone. Then she looked up at the clock on the wall and realized that it was almost midnight. "WHAT?" Izabella yelled in disbelief. The library closed at nine o'clock, how could she have not noticed that she was alone in the library for almost three hours? How could Mrs. Fickle not have noticed that Izabella was still working at her desk? Didn't she check to make sure the place was empty before locking up? Geez, she thought, she was going to be grounded for sure when she got home. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her things. But when she tried to push open the doors to leave she noticed that they were locked from the inside, too. She couldn't get out. Izabella looked for another way out, but even the windows had locks on them. Then she remembered that the small window in the girls' bathroom didn't have any locks on it. Sometimes she would slide it open when it smelled funny in there. She hurried to the girls' bathroom, forced the window open, and tossed her backpack out before climbing onto the waste can and out the small opening. It was a tight squeeze, but she was finally able to get out. Though maybe if Izabella wasn't in such a rush to get home, she would have noticed that the street lights weren't as bright as they should have been and everything seemed a little darker and quieter than normal, and maybe she would have noticed that someone or something was following her. Crunch, crunch, crunch said the dead maple leaves under her feet as she walked over them. And clicket-tat, clicket-tat was the sound made by whatever was following her. Izabella noticed it now. She stopped and turned around quickly, but there was nothing there. She called outÉ "Hello? Who's there?" But nobody answered. She was getting a little nervous now and she started to talk a little faster, too. Crunch, crunch, crunchÉclicket-tat, clicket-tatÉcrunch, crunch, crunchÉclicket-tat, clicket-tat. It sounded almost like a drum roll. The faster she walked, the faster it followed. Now Izabella was really scared, she dropped her backpack and started running home as fast as she could. But whatever was behind her was faster than she was and whatever was behind her jumped in the air and right over Izabella's head. It landed a few feet in front of her and made a low, deep growl. Izabella was frozen with fear by the hideous thing in front of her. It was the same ugly monster that she wrote about in her story for Mr. Bradley's class. It looked sort of like a wolf, only bigger and meaner with glowing, green eyes and yellow, sharp teeth and it was coming closer. Izabella managed to take a step backwards, but the creature took two steps forward. Isabella then braved two steps back, but the creature took three steps forward. She screamed and then turned to run, but didn't get very far. The creature's jaw clamped down on her left ankle and began dragging her away. She tried to grab hold of something as she screamed, anything, but her fingernails only left a trail in the dirt. And the trail went down the hill, across the football field and into the woods. That was all that was left of Izabella, no one ever saw her again...oh yeah, that and her backpack. When the cops searched through it the next day, that's all they found...a math book, her binder, a few pencils...and her story. It read: Girl Missing. It was about a girl that went missing after meeting up with a werewolf late one night. by Izabella Vilela
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