12
The Man in the Too-Small Red Coat by Natalie Robles
The woman tapped once again on the door, her elongated limbs protruding at odd angles from her slim form as she hunched over to peer into the small hole the door bore. Let me in, she murmured, a hazel eye snapping around the dark room.
I’ve come back, she rasped when no reply echoed through the long halls at the edge of her vision. we had a deal. She refused to leave. The man had promised so much more, promising she would drip with power, tendrils of it rippling in her wake. He had instead left her gaunt and crippled.
She would not forgive, not forget the man in the too-small red coat. Come out, she hissed alone in the rain drenched night. Her screams deafened the woods until it, too, was entranced by her hymn, one that sang of slaughter as the structure was ripped from the earth and nothing was found within.
Untitled by Carrot
If I knew about the events that would be set in motion from my one choice, I would've given it more thought. Instead, when my friend dared me I couldn't spend a single day alone in the cave by the old, abandoned house in the woods, I of course took it upon myself to prove him wrong.
My friend Matt is a bit arrogant and he thinks he knows everything, so his confidence in my inability to do the task made my blood boil. And of course, being as pigheaded as I am, I accepted his dare.
Only later would I realize how appropriate my wording was.
The next afteri as I'm about to walk out the door with all my camping supplies, I accidentally step on one of my dog's squeaky toys he loves to leave lying around. I manage to catch my balance and stay upright, but my mom heard me.
"Mia Belle Thompson, where are you going?" my mom demands.
With an annoyed sigh, I lie through my teeth. "I'm spending the night at Liv's!"
You see, my mom would never trust me to spend the night at Matt's because my mom and his don't get along, and therefore she hates his entire family. And if she knew I was going to spend a whole day in the cave by the abandoned house, she'd have a heart attack.
So, to keep me and her alive, it's best if I just lie.
I leave the house, throw my stuff in the basket of my bike, and pedal for thirty minutes until I get to the abandoned house where I agreed to meet Matt.
He's already there, and he has his tent sent up near the back of the house with a perfect view of the cave to make sure I don't cheat.
"Hey Mia!" he greets me.
"Hey, Matt!" I say in answer with a wide grin. "You have your fifty dollars to pay me when I win the bet?"
"Ha!" he scoffs. "No way! I won't need it."
I roll my eyes at him. Of course he's that confident. "Alright, well if you're so confident want to up the bet to a hundred dollars?"
Matt sucks in a breath, surprised. He knows I wouldn't wager that much money unless I seriously considered a chance at winning.