As October finally comes to an end, we bring to the community the results of our yearly Spooky Story Competition. We hope that you enjoy reading the winning submissions.
Designed by Wynn
A Happy Story of Everyday Demise
Written by Shinzo
7 in the morning. My sleep is disturbed. The alarm buzzes loudly next to my ear. Work in an hour. Well. What gives? Outside, the sky glows with an eerie orange hue. No clouds, no moon – just the heavy darkness of an October morning. I turn my back and walk away. The kitchen. A beautiful morning escape from the dread that the workdayöbrings with itself. The early coffee, a punch in the face to wake me before an 8-hour shift. How lovely. At least it’s warm. I guess. But eh. Not much time for other things. I got to make my way outside. The cold autumn wind is calling me, as I make my way outside the igloo. Leaving behind a poor view of a poor house.
Outside. The wind blasts in my face. It’s late October. But the Antarctic wind is already taking its toll. On me, anyway. I take some steps. With each step toward town, my footprints fill with fresh icy rain, erasing my trail as quickly as I leave it. I lift my head. My gaze leaning towards the sky. All missing now is a thunderstorm. I think. Well. It could be worse. At least. Gaze on the snow. Again. My path is calling. The path to labour. Not long anymore, I shall arrive. The beautiful cold wrapping around my every step. I have arrived. At last.
Crossing the square. No soul in sight. Well. No penguin, at least. At such an hour it should be quite packed. Is it a holiday today? Probably not. Whatever. I’m here already. I open the door of the coffee shop. I enter. The glass door being smashed shut behind me. The strong wind is doing the work for me. At least this part. At least something. Well. Off to the top floor we go. Passing by the two penguins drinking their coffees. Presumably enjoying some free time. How much they must envy me with my suitcase in hand. Whatever. I ascend the stairs leading me to heaven. Labour heaven. Wonderful.
Well. Here I am. Among the many. The typewriters type write. I sit down on my chair. One last look on the clock. I’m 5 minutes late. Whatever. I don’t even want to start. But I guess there’s no other choice. I sigh. Focus. The paper inserted into the machine, I start to type my article. I feel like I don’t even have the time for it. Although it is my job. I don’t even know where to start. Either it is too much, or too little ideas. I assume it’s the latter. I should get my brain going. But, oh. Well. Power outage. The whole room is dark. Again. It’s been pretty common these days. No one says anything. Everyone’s already used to it. I stare into the dark. Nothing.
Hm. It should be over now. This is lasting longer than the other days. I take out my mobile phone some weird bald guy gave me when I wanted to call my mother in the phoning facility. I wonder what that was about. Anyway. Let’s not get distracted. I turn on the flashlight. The room lights up dimly. But…Where is everyone? Did they all evacuate? Without me?! I swear. Those people. Well. I guess time to head outside. I keep the flashlight turned on. I walk outside the room, down the stairs. The coffee shop is also swept empty. Probably everyone went outside to be safe. Just in case. Maybe I’m just not that smart. I walk through the empty café. Towards the door that I entered just minutes earlier.
Outside. Cold. Again. I forgot my coat. Whatever. But wait. No one. No one here. Huh? Am I stupid? I mean, yeah. But am I stupid?! Where is everyone? Okay, this is getring weird. I don’t like this. But they can’t be far. It’s been like 5 minutes maximum. Well. I guess that’s a day off at least? So I shouldn’t worry. I should get my coat and just leave. Before someone comes back. Especially my boss. So I head back inside. Up the stairs. Phone in hand. There it is. My ticket to survive the frosty way home. I walk towards it. But. Oh no. No. P̶̧̖̙̳̳͛̎́͊̕͠L̴̡̟̩̗͇̀̐Ẹ̴̲͍̼̞̟͋̌͝͝Ã̵̠͇̪̱̣͔͔̥̊̈́́̀͑͆̽Ș̸̨̥̝̬̦͋̐͛͑͘͜É̸̼̼̦͑̔̇̃̉̏͗̚͜ ̴̳̠̖̳̗̓̉̇͘N̸̗͌̈́̋̎̅̋̔͘͜͝Ơ̷̢̻̣̥̻̗̳̦͊̃̃͌̽Ț̸̣̭̖͓̦͍͕̇̽̅ͅ
Darkness. Cold. What just happened? What was that? Something dark appearing behind my chair. Approaching me. Tackling me. And now I am here. I cannot move. I hear steps. In the snow. It’s crunching. I want out. I̷̧̻̲͉̗͑̿̓̊̕ ̶̦̬̙͇͙̳̃͋̃̕ẁ̸̽ͅa̴̛͓̞̹̰̤̅̓n̷̺̝̱̫͉͛̕͝t̵͚͎̹̜̿́͌̌̔̚͜ ̸̰͖̑̈ǒ̴̖̜̹͖͔̏̚͝ù̴̢̫͑̈́̈́͝t̷͂. Where am I? I’m scared…
Minutes later. I hear a door open. I am set on the floor. Lie there. Unable to move. My eyes still covered with…something. I don’t even know. What is going on here? I just hear steps on solid stone. A loud echo. It must be a large room. But I don’t know. Is this the end? Is this how my life is supposed to end? It can’t be. Ǐ̷̡̳̠͎͐͑̈͐͘ẗ̷͉̯́̐̊͠ ̸͉͔̩͎̍̚c̶͎̤̈̊̽ͅá̶̲̀̋̉̂͘ņ̷̩̭̭͚̉̓͝’̴̮͓̩̗͆t̵̨̲̔̏͒ ̵̰͉͇̊͂͂b̶̰̅̈́͜͜͝e̵̫̫̙͂.
The cloak is slowly removed from my head. This could be it. The light of the ‘room’ punching me in the face like one of my bosses assignments. It’s blinding me. How long must I have been in the dark? To now be blinded like that. I cannot see. I can only assume the outlines of what is another penguin. He just stares at me. And then. Lights out. Dark again. But this time. No. No cloak over my head. What was that about? Did they just want to get a look of me? What creeps are those? Where am I even? Will they torture me? I’m just a normal penguin. Please. L̴̢̧͎͒͆̉E̴̪̱̲̒͜T̷͈̣̤̿̏́̿ ̴̨̿ͅM̸̼̠͙͂̌̇Ẹ̸̡̞̾͂̈́͜ ̴̣̝̓̚͝O̶͖̻̬̓U̵̺̞̓́͝T̷͉͒̂̚͝!
I can only hear the steps of the lone penguin exit the large, echoing room. Echoing in the darkness of my own demise. My own suffering. I don’t even want to know what they will do to me. I just lie here. Not able to move. Not able to see. Minutes pass. Or hours. Or days. What do I know? It feels like an eternity. Right now I really wish I would be at my job. Writing articles. Even though it feels approximately the same as this. Ha. At least I can keep myself sane with my impeccable humour. What a laugh. But yeah. What else can I do? All I have is myself. And that’s too much to bear already. Just. I want to go. Please. Even if no one can hear me. Please…
Sigh. Well. I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that I don’t know my fate. Or. Yeah. That’s pretty much the worst. I could be dead any minute. They could do whatever to me. I wouldn’t know. And I don’t want to know, honestly. But. Oh no. I hear steps again. Someone is coming here again. Or something. For all I know. Well. I hear the steps approach closer and closer. Every echo like a horrible drumming of death. A bit of light around the corner. A torch? I can see a penguin holding it. His face lit up from below. He’s wearing a black cloak. Hiding his eyes in deep, dark shadows. He just stands there. Looking at me from afar. I look back. Well. It’s the only thing I can look up. The room appears to be some sort of mine. Everything made of solid stone. He takes another step. And another. Coming closer to me. And closer. I don’t want this. He’s almost here.
◊̸̺̙͝ ̷̥͔̓ˆ̶̩̪̀̿Ә̴͖͉͊̑ɲ̵̺̹̍͊̎ɲ̴͉͇͋̈͊æ̶̛̗͌ı̸͈̗͋̾͝ ̶͈̇̓̒≥̴̹̺̲̄͘æ̸̟͑͝ ̴̭͐͂̄ı̴̨̭͛̅µ̴͈̱̭͑̈́͝°̴̘̰̤̋ϐ̶̼̭̩̃̎ ̷̢̛̲̉Ӛ̶̱́ɲ̶̹̈́͆̎≤̴̲̣͂͆̇›̵͎̖̱̒͒æ̵̺̈́´̸͉͔́͝˘̴̪́́.̵̧̞͂͐ ̶͎́͠Ꝇ̶̻͇̞̓˘̵͚̩͕͐ı̶̡̖̺́ ̶̻́̇›̶̥͕́́˘̶͍̰͌͜ ̴̧̲̊̏æ̶̹̏¢̴̡̂ı̷̦͕̹͠.̵̛͈̇ ̷̯̬͌͌Ꝇ̵̯̒˘̷̠̌̇ı̶̯̇̽ ̵̡̊̚ͅ›̵̘́̑͝˘̷̥̋̋́ͅ ̷̘̍æ̸̛̟͇¢̵̩͒̓̍ı̵̈́͛͜.̶̺̳̙̎ ̷̖̟͈̓͠`̶̼͒̾¿̷̫̝̱̿̃͘˘̵̨̥̳̄͊͘Ә̵̳͙̻̂̇͋ϐ̵̛̰͉́˘̸̧̤̭͂̈́.̴̓͆ͅ ̶̙̀͗◊̷͈͆ ̷̫̫͎͆†̶̺͊̈°̵̻̩̦̀¿̵̧͝¿̴̖͑̍̕ ̷̤̼̆͂̈́ͅ≱̬̦̀æ̷̧̭̮̐̈́ ̶̜͇̋Ә̴̞̭́͘ɲ̸̫̠̈́͌≰͈̎͝ı̶̨̮̍µ̵͍̼̪́͒°̷̱̙͋́ɲ̶̥͚͒̇�̶͓͈̏�̷̟̮͌͘ ̸̢͖͒͋≰̡̋͆̚æ̸̮̹̭̀¢̷̱͖͐̀͆ ̶͍̲̮͋́†̷̥͈̋ͅӘ̸̨̝̚ɲ̴̹̔ı̴̟͊͘.̶͙̫͊̈́̑ ̸̱͙͓̚◊̴̟͓͖̔̃̇ ̸͍̱͐ͅµ̷̤̈͐Ә̷͓̐͜ᵛ̵̛͙͕̙͝˘̶̛̰̠̞̈́̒ ̷̫̫͛†̵̮̼͔͌͠°̴̧̳̾┍̷̧̎̄̈˘̷̬̮̇͒̕ ̵̘̺̓Ә̸̭͍̫̉͘ɲ̷̬̀≥̵̞͔̫͑̂̍ ̷͎́͋̐«̸͖̀̀͝°̷͚̝̍̕≥̵͇͚̣̅͒ϐ̷̣͔̲͐.̴͇̈́̈́͐ ̶̘͒°̵̫̲̒̕ͅ«̴̢̡̌̓Ә̶̻̩͗͒͐≤̵͓̬̍̊͜,̴͕̱̘̀͝ ̸̲̾͝◊̷̬̋̋ ̷͚̝͇̈́͆̋≥̵̺̌̍͝æ̶̨̬̝̑ɲ̵̮͑̂̎’̴͚̿͆ı̷̞̐̀.̴͚̞̹̆̀ ̶̩̠̝͌̌˝̷͖͇͗̏̕¢̵͉̄̋̿ı̴̰͚̓ ̸̛͇͑̌≰̦̦̹͂͌̈ǣ̸̣͈̺̚¢̶̛̞̟ ̴̻̫̽«̷̜͔̌ɲ̵͈̼͗̽̎æ̴̡͓̟̐†̸̢̝̇̐̉ͅ.̵̣̦̈͋.̵̝̙̌̀͜.̸̱̠̈Ꝇ̶̛̜̈́˘̶͎͔̫̑ı̸͍͆̈̚ ̷̬̽›̴̗̖͝˘̴̓ͅ ̵̧͚͉̎̀͛¿̸̩̻͑͜°̸̞͊ᵛ̸̳̝̑̃͒˘̸̱͌̀͠.̵̢̗̆ ̷̘̿͘◊̵̩͔̣͐̾̒ ̵̺̩͔̓̍͝ˆ̴̼͠Ә̴̛̖͒̀ɲ̷̼̬́̽ ̶̡̥͝�̴̪͕̬̎�̷̧̮́͌°̵͕̙̄ᵛ̷̧̻̑̀̊˘̶̠̖̤͒̿̓ ̴̳̌≤̵̡̝͒̇̊æ̶͎̞̪͊¢̸̜̐͒ ̵̠̼͙̔Ә̵̮̭̳̋ɲ̸̰͋́≤̵̯͇̆͗̈́ı̸̣͕͇̍̎µ̴̛̖̺̱̃̕°̴̯͓̕ɲ̵̤͈͖͌̒�̴̟́͐͘�̶̣̝͂͗.̴̞͋̉͠ͅ ̶̛̜̓¸̸̪̭̳͛¢̸̟̩̤̊͛̚ϐ̶̯̩̑ı̸̣̀͜ ̴̤̂̎¿̴̙̟̻̈͊͘˘̷̧͖̠̀ı̶̤͕͈́̽̈́ ̶̻̉̀̇›̷̜̬͛͝˘̴̺̍̿ ̶̼͍͈̕�̶̢̠̰́̎͋�̴͎̼͂˘̴̥̞̬͗̿͘.̷̥͂̉͋ ̶̣̦̇̄͐◊̷̙̩̓̃͠ ̴̪̖̃̀̇µ̴͖̇̍͝Ә̷̫͛ᵛ̴͉̀̒̏˘̸͓̮͛̌ ̷̡͇̬͌ɲ̴̼̜̇̏ͅæ̶̑ͅı̶̘̇̀µ̶̭̂°̶̭͇̀̐͝ɲ̵̬͙͈͗͗͋�̵̨̛͙͊͑�̸͔̖̍̀ ̷̢̼̓͝≤̶̜̞͔͑æ̴͙̽ͅ¢̷̎͜ ̴̰́̀͝ˆ̸̹͕͍̈́̎̅æ̵̡̤̈́¢̴̞̓͌¿̵̩́≥̵͚̒̚ ̴̛̛̖̺̃ͅ†̶̧͇̤̐Ә̵͖͆̆ɲ̶͇͓̘͛ı̵̱̰̌.̸͉̫̫́̾̂ Just let me be. °̵͕͝µ̸͙͕͆ ̶̢͙̻̏̄͠≰̱͎͐ͅ˘̸̨̛̻̄Ә̸̭͑͠ͅµ̶̨̤̹͋.̶̻̹̦͘ ̷̥̪̑͆✁̴̱̈́̉͝µ̶͎̫̅Ә̵̱͇̰̋ı̴̜͇̈́’̶̬̤̂̋͆ϐ̸̡͘ ̶͖̜͕͊°̸̫͔̓̂̕ı̶̆͜.̶͍̔̐ ̷̛͙̭̌◊̶̗̕͘͠ ̸̘̟̭̍ˆ̵̳͒̌͝Ә̴̧̬̾̌͜ɲ̵͈̽͛͝ ̴͇̊̎̽�̶͎̤̥͋͝͝�̵̡̜̻̀°̷̬̲̉͗͜ᵛ̶̨̛̖̼͂̉˘̶̢̥̇͝ ̷͎͊≤̶̗̘̂̾̃͜æ̶̨̲̗͒͂̃¢̸̼̑̉̌ ̵̯̳͈̀̊̚ϐ̶̹̱̹̾̓æ̷̀̿͜ͅ›̸̢̟͙̈́˘̷̥͋̃͘æ̵̖͇̿̽ɲ̸̤̏̃͝˘̴̹͚̯̿̍ ̸̝̲̆̓́˘̵̞̤͋͂́¿̸̢͈̘̾ϐ̵̳̮̃˘̴̧̮̫̇̽̌.̸̟̿́̆ ̶̢͖̯̒̓͝¥̸̛̹̙̞͊͑æ̵̮͓͓̐̄͘›̷̧̧̤̓͝˘̵̱̋æ̶͙̃͂ɲ̴̳͖̒̈́͜͝˘̴̺͕̤̑̎̈ ̵̙̓̂˘̴̖͈̯̂̅¿̵̩̈ϐ̷̩̐̍̓˘̸͖̯̪͛͑ ̷̬̮̾›̷͔̲̿̅́͜æ̷͓̼̿͜´̵͕̗̤͒͆˘̵͙͆̄ ̶͍͝°̵̟̎́̚›̶̜͑̀”̶̞̺̀æ̸̹̦͕̈´̵͖̘̝͛ı̵̙̍̅͜Ә̶̧̛̭̜̾ɲ̶̪̅̀ı̶̺̀̓ͅ.̸̢̹͂̑ ̸̩͚͐͜œ̸̤͒̈˘̷̲͐’̶̹͈̜̉̂̋ϐ̵͚͓̜̀͝ ̷͎͒̉”̷̡͐̊”̷̘͑≥̵̙͘°̶͔̂͒͠ı̴͍̌̿̽æ̵̝̪͔͑͗͘´̵̦͗̽͌ ̵̖̲͚̾͂Ӛ̸́͑͜ı̷̺͛͜ ̵͇̠͋̈ı̴̧̧͇̽̐͂µ̶̣͇̆͊˘̸̢̹̥̏̑ ̷̟͆̐∏̸͙̩̄̀¿̵̡̝̒͌̾¢̷̪̦̲̂�̶̺̖͉̂�̷̭̉͑̀ ̸̖̃`̵̨̯̟̉͋͝˘̷͓̙͋͋ɲ̴̯̭̣̈́�̵̜̲̦͆̽�̶̣̍́̑¢̸̦̙̋°̵͇̯̀̌̋ɲ̸̼̘͉́̽ ̵̺̪͝✁̷̯͋̀͂°̷͈͌›̵͙͙͊͘˘̵̘̗̇̆̕ϐ̴̜̀̌̕.̸̭̣̦̚ ̴̞̼̪́̋͠ǿ̷͍̅æ̸̧̛̹̠̅¢̴̙̑̇ ̴̱̱̋ˆ̷̳̪̓æ̷̭̀¢̵̱̏̍¿̵̬͎́͑≥̴̹̅͗͂ ̵̻̊́̔�̶͎̠͉̑̈́͒�̴͕̱͈͊̉˘̶̭̇͆͝ı̴̝̫̪͑͗̍ ̴̹̋̈́ͅӘ̸̛̝̬̆ɲ̷̡̰̬͐̿≤̵̼̦̺̇ ̴̞͙̓͊´̶͓̊̏Ә̸͓͑̄̚ɲ̸̳͉̻͊ϐ̵̥̻̓́̀͜æ̷̟̤̂̋›̶̳̖̥̾͘ ̶̠͆̃͋≤̶͙͌̈́̕æ̵͈̭͗̈́̔¢̸̩̝̍̔ ̷̝̉͒†̷͐͛ͅӘ̷̘̫̲̃ɲ̸̯̈͜͝͠ı̵̠̬̍͝.̷̨̈́̌͝ ̶̦́̈́̊✁̷͔̀̀̕µ̴̡̻̮̊̕Ә̷̝͓̥͠ı̵̮̤͎̈́̄’̴̙̩̓̓ϐ̴̯̭͍̓̔̀ ̸̧̾†̸̳̲̎̕µ̷̹͗͂Ә̶͚̆̋̚ı̴̜̻̋ ̴̮̬̭̓≤̶̦̦̬͛̊͒æ̵͇̹̕͜¢̴̘̉ ̶̥̈́̑̆†̴͎͍͛̆Ә̷̜̝͐͂ɲ̵̰̙̹́ı̴̳͚̫͌͊.̵̪͒ ̷̠̝̗̍̌̏◊̶̻̞̉͌͜ϐ̶̜̠̃ͅɲ̶̤͈͗͗’̶̛̜̣̰ı̵̨̄̊̚ͅ ̶̩̀°̴̗̥̄̕ı̴̗̞̈́?̷̲̼̃ ̴̺̟̪̔͘̕◊̸̰̉̾ ̶̱͑̓̏ͅ«̶̥̇͌ɲ̸̨̼͔̽æ̴̮̌͝†̶͎͆̕͝ ̵͍̇≤̶̙̭̻̊̀͝ǣ̷͚̞¢̸̙͛͝.̶͓̍͛ ̷̹̩̊̉̏¥̵̢̗̾̀̊æ̶̹͊ ̵̡̝̆±̸̬̱̖̃¢̸̧̤̯̾ϐ̶̰͙̿̄ı̴̠͖̲̆̈ ̷͎͙́́¿̷͔̗͛˘̶̹̲͓͑̀ı̴̧̪͛̽ ̷͎̌›̵̣̹́˘̶̬̾͗ ̷͚̗̑͂̈́ͅ�̸̜͆̓�̴͇̉æ̶̮̗͉͋̆̃.̷̗͂ ̷̣̌͊̃`̴̹̠̉¿̶̪̜̿̚˘̶͉̞̈́̊̿Ә̶͕͓͎̔͝͝ϐ̸̹̹̬̃̑̕˘̴͉̺͐.̵͓͚͈͑͂
Wait. What? He takes me by my flippers. Lifts me up. Doesn’t say anything. Oh God. Please help me. He drags me along the floor. I’m still unable to move by myself. Just being dragged across the cold stone floor. Where is he leading me? Why is he not saying anything? The light slowly begins to fade into another room. Inside, many penguins. A whole cult. All wearing the same cloak. All dark. All in a semicircle around something. Some sort of statue. A penguin statue. The penguin on my flippers lets go. Unties me. I can now move. But I know if I leave I’m doomed. I don’t want to risk it. So I just stand up. And l look at them. The penguin walks towards the others. Filling a gap that was left before. They all lower their bodies and heads. Almost as if they are in humility. Where have I landed? What is this?
I just watch. I don’t try to leave. I’m just scared. But just then, they get up. All at the same time. After mumbling something to themselves. Something I couldn’t understand. One of them takes a torch. I watch him. He walks closer to me. What the? Will he burn me? Was this all some ritual of sacrifice? Are they going to offer me to their Gods? Or whatever? Regardless, does it matter? I’m done for. Finally. But wait. He stops. Lowers the hood of his cloak. I can see his face. No way. What?! My coworker? He just looks at me. What is he doing here? What has he done with me? I don’t know anymore. He stares at me. Smiling. I look concerned. A few words escape his beak: “Welcome to the Church. Praise Aurora.”
THE MASKED STRANGER
Written by Satchmo
What is true evil? Many may debate the answer, but one thing is certain: on Halloween Night in 2006, the world witnessed evil in its purest form. That night, Club Penguin Island was forever changed.
It was the early hours of Halloween Night, and the streets were draped in an eerie silence, broken only by the distant echoes of music from the Night Club. Cadence and Rookie stumbled along the sidewalk. They had been out all night. As they passed the Pizza Parlor, the warm aroma of hand-tossed dough filled the air, luring them inside. Little did they know the man they were about to meet.
He towered at 6 foot, 4 inches tall. His long leather coat hung from his frame like a tattered shroud, ripped and torn from years of abuse. A hood obscured his features, but beneath it was a cracked and jagged porcelain mask. Shards were missing, as if they had been shattered by time and violence. A large scar ran ominously from his chin to his ear, a testament to the horrors that were about to ensue. His bright blue eyes glimmered with an eerie intensity, yet behind them lay a void that sent shivers down the spine. His hands were large and rough, covered in old scars and fresh cuts, with nails filed into sharp points, capable of tearing flesh. A bone-chilling grin broke across his features, a harbinger of death that sent shivers down Cadence’s spine. It was a smile that promised pain and suffering, revealing knives that could tear through the toughest meat.
He sat alone at a table in the dimly lit corner of the Pizza Parlor, surrounded by the distant sounds of laughter and chatter. No food, no drink—just an empty tabletop reflecting the faint glow of the overhead lights. He held himself perfectly still, and unnerving rigidity to his posture, as if he was a lifeless mannequin. His bright blue eyes locked onto them. A slight tension hung in the air, something wasn’t quite right about him
After they sat down, the owner of the parlor approached them with a warm smile, ready to take their orders. Cadence opted for a squid pizza with hot sauce, while Rookie excitedly chose a pink icing jellybean pizza.
Suddenly, the strange man arose and left. His movements were stiff and rigid, each step was perfectly calculated, like the inner machinations of a clock. He moved with a presence, casting an unsettling shadow as he made his way to the door.
Upon leaving the Pizza Parlor, Rookie suddenly felt as if someone’s gaze had locked onto him. Before he could shake off the feeling, an orange puffle jumped out from behind a car and sank its teeth into his leg. Cadence erupted into hysterical laughter, the sound echoing through the dimly lit street.
Fueled by anger and embarrassment, Rookie chased the puffle down a dark alley. Cadence quickly lost sight of him as he was swallowed by the shadows. Slowly, her laughter subsided, replaced by an unsettling silence.
She called out for him, yet no response came. All she heard was the echo of her voice. Fear gnawed at her as she approached the alley, the shadows teasing her. She begged him to come back believing it was just a game. But the only answer she got was the darkness that engulfed her, wrapping around her like a suffocating shroud. Her anxiety began clawing at her, her heart pounding. Her fear began to take over.
All of a sudden, she spotted a door, a sliver of darkness beckoning her closer. As she approached, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air. It was familiar. It was Rookie. Her heart raced as the screams echoed in her mind, but with every step, they grew weaker.
Desperation clawed at her throat as she called out for Rookie. The familiar scream slowly started to disappear and panic ensued.
As she entered the building, the smell of rotting flesh hung heavy in the air. The roar of a saw filled the hallway, accompanied by the cackling of its operator. Her pulse hightened as she ventured deeper into the empty darkness, her gut screaming for her to turn back. Suddenly a trail of blood appeared before her, leading her onward, growing more pronounced with each fearful step.
The trail of blood led her to a room at the end of the hallway. As she pushed the door open, she discovered the horrors that had transpired. Rookie lay splayed on a metal table, his body horrifically mutilated. His flippers had been sawed off and his abdomen had been slit open, organs harvested and strewn around him like discarded trash. His head, now detached from his body, lay grotesquely on a separate table. His eyes had been gauged out, and in their place, cracks of mirror had been placed, making him almost lifelike in a way.
Cadence had never witnessed such horror. Her stomach churned, and her knees buckled. She leaned against the doorway as her vision blurred. The room started to spin as the contents of her stomach exited. She couldn’t comprehend the nightmare she had just witnessed. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be real.
Suddenly, the sound of manic laughter filled the room. Her eyes shifted to meet the source. The man from the Pizza Parlor stood over Rookie’s body. His face twisted into a demonic smile, stretched from ear to ear as if his lips were being pulled by some unseen force. His knife-like teeth gleamed in the dim light, sharp and menacing. The twisted grin on his face radiated pure malice. It was evident that the destruction he caused upon Rookie pleasured him. His saw continued to buzz in his hand, vibrating with the same murderous energy that seemed to pulse through him.
“Bon appétit,” he cackled. The saw roared to life, and before Cadence could scream, he pressed the spinning blade to his own throat. Blood sprayed violently as the saw dug deep into his flesh. The sound of the cracking bones tore through the air. His laughter echoed through the room as his headless body collapsed before her, leaving Cadence standing in the doorway, paralyzed with terror.
The room felt suffocating, the air thick with the stench of death. Her eyes remained locked on the bodyless head of the man she met moments before. The smile was still there, his eyes remained locked on her, his neck still oozing crimson.
For what felt like an eternity, the only sound was the dull hum of the saw now abandoned on the floor, its spinning blade slowly winding down to silence. But as the saw stopped, something else began—a small grasp for air, faint at first, but unmistakable.
Her gaze darted to Rookie’s lifeless body. Her reflection beamed back at her from his eye sockets. The reflection shifted ever so slightly. The air grew colder as Cadence felt an unnatural chill crawl up her spine. She could barely breathe.
A whisper broke the silence. Echoing through the horrors in the room. The voice was not from Rookie, but somewhere deeper, darker.
“Cadence…”
Her blood turned to eyes. She stumbled back as she tried to leave the room, eyes wide with terror. The room around her seemed to warp and close in as the lights flickered out, engulfing her in the darkness that had just occurred.
Congratulations to Satchmo and Shinzo for winning this year’s Spooky Story Competition! These two stories were certainly thrilling, without a shred of doubt. Additionally, thank you to every participant who sent submissions to the reporting heads. Did you enjoy reading the stories? Did you get any goosebumps?
Edu14463
Editor-in-Chief
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Army Legend. Former Water Ninjas leader. Founder and Former Leader of the Elite Guardians of Club Penguin. Current Club Penguin Armies Editor-in-Chief.
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