Stories

Starting it.

Blackburn in Lancashire is my home town. I've lived here since I was born. 17 years, that's a lot I suppose. My best friends are here, my school is here and my family is here. Everything really. But it's what happened the night me and my friends went camping that you should really know about. So I'll tell you. I'm starting now.

Introductions.

"Hurry up! Crow wood isn't gonna wait for you!"
Frankie was already at the start of the woods, across the stream that runs next to the road. I think my dad said that meant it was parallel to the road. She was always the first one to reach our meeting point every weekend. We'd all cross the stream and sit a little way in, light a fire and just talk or play a game. Eddie always liked to show off the latest magic trick he'd taught himself by torchlight at night. His mum didn't approve of magic and having fun. If she knew he was here with us instead of out helping little old ladies with their shopping, she'd have us arrested and lock him away indoors for the rest of his life! She always worried that he would catch some sort of disease, like the scarlet fever his dad died from.
Eddie Kanes is 5ft2 with short blondish-brown hair and brown eyes. He's 16. This week he'd managed to give her the slip by telling her he was staying with his cousin for the weekend. Eddie's auntie agreed with us thankfully and felt that Eddie should be given more freedom, so she'd agreed to tell his mum that he was at their house and unavailable if she wanted to talk to him. In exchange for this, we had to let Jake come camping with us this weekend, but he usually came with us to the woods at the weekends anyway, so this didn't matter. He's 5ft5 with spiky browny-red hair and blue eyes. He's also 16.
Jake Mack's a great guy, but he's very loud and makes jokes a lot. It's hard to tell when he's being properly serious, but it's usually a bad sign if he is. I don't really know that much about his family apart from he's Eddie's cousin and his dad left when he was young.
The last boy in our group is Max Trey, the leader. Max is 5ft7 (the tallest) with short black hair and grey eyes. He's 17. He's not officially the guy who we follow, but he usually knows what's up and where we should go, so we just generally do what he suggests. Max's parents are really nice to us all, but they make sure we're home at the right times by ringing our parents 10 minutes after we say we'll be back home. They never ring Eddie's mum though. They understand. Frankie gets a bit annoyed that we regard Max as the leader as she's always been in charge when we were little, so to be 'challenged for her title', as she says, riles her up a bit. That's just Frankie though. She doesn't mind too much really. I think.
Frankie Mikes is 5ft6 with long red hair and green eyes. She's 17 too. She's my best friend and the only one of the group that I tell everything to, because I know she won't laugh or tell anyone else. She's like a big sister to me really. Frankie mostly does what she wants, because she's alone a lot at home, so she stays at mine most of the time. Her dad works all the time to pay the bills and her mum walked out when she was 3. She hasn't written or seen Frankie since. I guess it upsets her but she never shows it. She's tough like that.
I'm Sabrina Abbey. I'm about 5ft4 with cropped purple hair and green eyes. I'm 16. Frankie sometimes jokes that my hair makes me look like a boy from behind, but I've taken a photo of the back of my head before and it does.
"Sabrina? Welcome to planet Earth! Snap awake!"
Frankie's loud voice jolts me out of my thoughts about our group (I prefer to use that word; it sounds nicer than gang doesn't it?) I notice I've crossed the river without realising. I guess we've come down here so often, the memory of how to get across right has become a force of habit now. "Sorry Frankie I was just… daydreaming again."
"You and your daydreams!" She laughed, "Your always dreaming. And you still pause before finishing your sentences! Another bad habit I suppose."
"Yeah, I guess so." The answer was automatic, it sounded like she'd said that last bit of her sentence more to herself than me. I suppose now it sounds like she just pushes me around a bit and teases me about all my bad habits, but it's not that, it's her way of reminding me that I'm doing it, to try and help me stop.
"OI! You two were supposed to set up the tents before we got here!" A shout makes us both jump. Frankie looks up angrily, only for her expression to soften when she sees its Jake and Eddie who have arrived. It's just as well that it was Jake who shouted. Frankie probably would've hit Max for trying to boss HER around.
"Aw give them a break; we are here a little early." Eddie immediately calms everything before it even starts. "Come on, let's set up together! It'll be easier that way. Simple!" He was right. We couldn't have put up the huge 2 room tent alone (separate rooms for the boys and us girls, with one bit in the middle to sit together in.)
"Okay, Mr organised! Where's your clipboard, I might be talking out of turn!" Jake is always calling Eddie Mr organised. It's a habit Eddie's picked up from his mum, he has to arrange everything and help organise things in some way. This is a pretty good thing though. At least we're never lost for what to do.

Decisions.

"It took us 3 hours to set those tents up! And you didn't even help, lazy ba-!"
"Language, Frankie!" Max said wearily.
"You better help pack away when we leave!"
"I said I would, now can you drop it? Please!"
We had only just finished setting the tents up and putting in all the sleeping bags and blankets when Max had arrived. As usual, Frankie had shouted at him for not helping us, completely forgetting he had said he would be out later and would bring food, water and entertainment (in the form of a portable DVD player, the latest horrors and comedian DVDs and about 4 new boys magazines for them and his mum's Cosmo and Heat magazines for us two.) Right now, she was sulking under the large oak tree we always sat under. We were quite near the middle of the woods, but we always walked in a straight line, west from the river. We only needed to walk straight East to get back. Max was cooking the portable barbeque pack he'd brought from his house and Jake and Eddie were arguing over the film we should watch in the dark, The Grudge (Japanese version) or The Orphanage. I shuddered. I loved horror films, but I preferred to watch them in daylight, when at least I could spend the rest of the day reassuring myself they weren't real.
"Come on guys, how about a comedian? I've got Rhod Gilberts new one!" Max smiled at me. He must've seen me shudder.
"Come on! One teeny horror film and then The award winning mince pie DVD?" I could see Jake really wanted to watch a horror tonight. Max looked at me and I nodded to say that it would be okay.
"Alright, but pick one we've watched before, okay?"
"Yes sir!" Jake's voice sounded ecstatic and he reminded me of a puppy. I had to stifle my giggles.
"Alrighty then, we'll watch Killer Klowns from outer space!"
"No, let's watch Ringu!"
"You and your Japanese horror films Eddie! We can watch Slither!"
"NO!" The scream came from me that time. Everyone turned to look at me. "Let's… let's watch Ju-On, the Grudge. Let's watch that." I had a really bad fear of Slither, ever since I watched about 5 minutes of it a year ago. I hated the idea of worms and bugs going into people's mouths and sleeping on the floor in the woods seemed like the most likely place that it would happen.
"I've got a better idea." Max's voice snapped us all out of our argument. "Why don't we tell each other ghost stories? We don't have to be home until 10pm tomorrow evening, because the fair is in town. We can tell the stories tonight, watch The award winning mince pie tomorrow morning and watch a horror in the afternoon before we pack up to go to the fair."
"Yeah I suppose."
"That does seem like the best idea."
"Alright, then. Tea's ready anyway. We can chat afterwards."
Max always did come up with the best ideas! I felt grateful to him for suggesting something that could still be scary, but not so realistic that I wouldn't sleep tonight. I could see Frankie was unhappy with his idea though. Why does she have such a problem with him?
Sitting around the fire toasting marshmallows, we began to talk.
"So, who's telling a story first then?" Eddie questioned us.
"I'll go." Frankie muttered from the back. "You want a monster story? I'll give you one. Be very careful what you wish for."

Frankie's Story

Everyone turned to face me. I hadn't meant to make that sound so dramatic! I just wanted to show Max he wasn't so tough and in charge. I shook a little as I began. I may act like a leader, but talking in front of people with them all watching me, is the one thing I hate.
"Come on Frankie, get started! We were gonna tell stories tonight not next year!" Max chuckled. Sabrina giggled with him!
"Fine. Here we go then!" I racked my brains quickly for a great story, spotted the huge Oak trees and immediately knew just how to creep them out.
"Listen children, for my tale is a cautionary one of what happens when you stray from the path. Nature lives on, especially in forests and it can always take its revenge. A young group of friends, much like yourselves, were walking into a deep forest. The oldest boy was a loudmouth, who didn't listen to anyone and though his ideas were the best. His best friends warned him about upsetting the trees, that they didn't like litter and pollution, but he chose to follow his own path. He smoked around the trees, not caring where the ash fell, and left beer cans and glass all over the forest. His friends had left him, fearing what might happen if they stayed. They were right. For nature was angry. The trees were crying because of the pain from pollution. Nature decided on revenge. As the boy walked through, three of the tallest oak trees grabbed him with their branches and as he screamed, invaded his mouth with their vines. They pierced through his organs, snapped his bones, wrenched out his eyes and finally, pulled out his foolish heart and threw him into a river to bleed alone. His friends returned the next day, to see if he was alright. A message marked on a rock with blood, greeted them: HERE LIES A FOOLISH FIEND. HIS BLACK HEART BEATS NO MORE. What the friend's next saw made them scream and run in fright. For next to this rock, was their friends own head, missing his body and eyes."
The whole group was silent. Sabrina was shaking, glancing round at the trees. Max was staring at me, as if to say "Where did you get that from!" The effect was brilliant and just what I'd hoped for… until Jake ruined it with laughter.
"HAHAHA! You... You think… he he... You think that's scary! Honestly, I'm a joker and I could tell a better horror story than that! Trees coming to life and murdering boys? HAHAHA!"
"Grrr, FINE! If you think you're so frightening, YOU tell one!"
Jake grinned wider. "Okay, then miss Mikes. I will!"

Jake's Story

Oh, boy was Frankie gonna love this one! It's based on a film I watched with my dad when I was like six… before he left… anyway, it's very scary and I was so frightened, I didn't sleep for two years after! Here we go!
"There was once a young boy called Charlie. He was teased a lot in school and his father was a deeply religious priest, who bullied Charlie and told him that he was being teased because he had sinned and he was helping the devil. His father would often lock him away and force him to pray to God to be released. Some people felt sorry for Charlie though. He was invited to the prom by a beautiful girl named Tammy, who really liked him. While getting ready, his father tried to attack him to stop him from going. It was then that Charlie discovered his true powers of telekinesis, by forcing his father to stay sitting down, staring at a picture of the devil. He left the house to the sounds of his fathers screams. At the prom, Tammy and he won the titles of prom king and queen. It was the happiest moment of his life, until the football team poured a bucket of blood over his head as a prank. His moment ruined and his sanity gone, Charlie used his powers to lock the doors of his school and slaughter everyone in the hall. It ended within ten minutes. Charlie awoke, saw what he had done with his power and with an anguished scream, murdered himself by forcing a wooden beam through his head. This tale does not come without warning. Be careful what you do to others. What goes around comes around. The person you humiliate may one day hold your life in their hands."
That would teach Frankie to assume she's boss! But she was smirking!
"You call that scary? That's a rip off from Carrie! And a poor one too!"
"So? It still had Sabrina shaking in fear!"
"Oh, Sabrina shakes at everything, she's always scared!"
"Hey, come on she can hear you!"
Eddie's shout stopped our argument immediately.
"I have a good story. Shall I go next?"

Max's Story

I was so sick and tired of them all arguing over stories! Okay, Frankie's was really good for something she'd only thought up about ten minutes ago and Jake's idea to copy a film was pretty awesome, but he'd just done it all wrong, by cutting out the best bits! I knew my story would be quite shocking. Frankie and Jake had both made boys the main characters of their stories, but I had seen several possession films in my time (some of them true) and girls can be just as likely to be victims of horror.
"Come on Max even I didn't take this long to think!" Frankie's voice catcalled from in front of me. I'd show her.
"This tale is not to be taken lightly young children. It is one of dread and fear, of what happens when the demons get angry. There was once a young girl, about the same age as you. Her name was Lilia. She was very, very beautiful and a lot of boys wanted her. But she always turned them down, telling them she was waiting for her true love to find her. Now this seems like a normal reason, but Lilia was not an ordinary girl. She was obsessed with demonic powers and the Devil. Lilia would spend all her time searching for new pictures and writings about the Devil and practising demon summoning chants, in the hope that she could meet the Devil. The Devil heard her chants but did not respond, believing them to be from a stupid 'demon hunter' intent on pretending to banish him. One day though, when Lilia chanted a very strong spell, he looked up from Hell and saw her beautiful face. He decided immediately such an angel should never go to Heaven. The Devil forced himself up through Hell, into her dark space (the place she used for chants). She was immediately happy to see him and vowed she wouldn't annoy him or let him leave her on Earth a day longer. "I want to be yours!" She cried. The Devil does not help, young children and he has no heart. He immediately replied.
"Certainly. But you must do something for me."
"Anything, my lord!" She looked into his evil face, hopeful for words like love and marriage.
"You… must… DIE!" and with those words, he pulled her soul from her body and forced it to wander Earth, taking her body to hell for his own selfish desires. Now, Lilia walks the earth, crying for The Devil to love her. And to ease her pain, she steals others souls, especially young ones like… YOURS!" I screamed. Sabrina jumped about 10ft into the air and started staring around her hysterically. Frankie wasn't impressed.
"Look what you did to poor Sabrina! She's terrified, she'll never sleep!"
"It was just a story, don't worry. I won't let anything hurt you Sabrina." I smiled at her. She smiled back weakly, still shaking. Frankie's grin turned sour.
"If you're done arguing amongst yourselves, I have a pretty good story that dad told me about before scarlet got him." Eddie's small voice piped up.

Eddie's story

Okay, I may have sounded brave just then, but I'm really not. This story freaks me out entirely but I doubt it will even make Sabrina scared. I was 6 when my dad first told me. It's the only horror story I know. Okay. Here goes.
"Magic is fun and exciting, but so many ignore it's hidden dangers and warnings. There are many tricks to learn and perform, so many dangers that come with them. Any magician can pull a rabbit out of a hat, but only certain magicians have enough true power to go completely insane. This is the case of the great Pazzesco. His tricks were mind boggling and incredible to watch. No-one could ever figure out how he performed them! He used many volunteers in his experiments but one thing a young boy who was always at his show noticed was that he picked volunteers who seemed to be alone or who had nobody who would look for them. The young boy would always sit close to adults, to look like he wasn't alone. The great Pazzesco always glanced at him and tried to get him to come on stage, but he would shake his head and turn to look at the adult next to him. One day, after a particularly daring show, the young boy decided to stay to figure out why the volunteers were always alone and why they never left the tent with everyone else. He crept round the back, but what he saw made him scream. There were body parts placed in jars and around the room on tables. The volunteers had been chopped up and different parts stitched back together to create several human bodies, which were alive and moving! Chained together to the wall they reached out for the boy, "help us… help us!" The small boy shook with fear and disgust, but he knew he had to save them from the evil madman magician. He went forward to try and unlock the chains, but from the tents back entrance, swept the great Pazzesco! He grinned evilly at the boy and in one swift move, grabbed a gold blade from the table next to him and sliced his head off. As the boy's body hit the floor, the magician held his head up and smirked. 'My last piece.' He thought sewing the head onto another body. Finally his madness was complete and he was ready to unleash his experiments to the world. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Freak Show!" "
Everyone was silent. Finally, Frankie spoke up.
"Wh… Whoa. That was really scary."
"No kidding. Beats my rip-off by a long shot.
"Well done Eddie." Max grinned. "Scared us lot half to death!"
I smiled back. "Well I wanted to give a good story, you know."
"Hey, the only person left to tell a story is Sabrina!" Frankie exclaimed.

Sabrina's story

I didn't want to tell a story. I hadn't really liked Max's idea in the first place. Especially after they started telling stories. I knew they were only making them up, but out in the woods for a whole night, it seemed so much more realistic. As I looked at the others faces, I knew I didn't want to be the one who ruined the evening by being too chicken to even tell a stupid story. So I swallowed my fear and smiled brightly.
"Okay then. I'll tell my story." And here goes.
"There's this little girl, right, and she's really shy and scared and she doesn't have many friends and she doesn't think she's beautiful at all. Well this girl's always trying to be polite and nice right, but there's these voices in her head, see, and they tell her some really awful things. They tell her things people are saying behind her back and if people are nasty to others and stuff and she just can't take these voices anymore. She just wants them to stop and go away. She sometimes can't take them so much that she screams to herself and that make's the voices louder, coz then everyone around her is calling her a freak and a weirdo. She runs home. She needs the voices to stop, they won't stop, they say, they'll never stop until she learns to do what's best, so she does what's best and she grabs her mummy's kitchen knife, the tall big one with the really sharp blade, and she walks up the stairs to go to her room and she sits on her bed and cries one last time, coz she knows this is the last time she can, coz she has to grow up now and stop the voices. She stops crying. Picks up the blade. Puts the point next to her head, right where she can hear the voices. And on the count of 3… 1… 2… 3… The blade digs in, cutting through flesh and she's in so much pain, but she won't cry coz finally the voices have gone away and she has to be big and brave, she must be, she's stopped them. Her parents found her later. They stitched her back up at the hospital. She's happy now. She can stop crying. The voices have gone away."

Ending it.

Everyone was silent now. Then Frankie spoke up.

"Sabrina… where… where did that come from?" I gave my best fake smile.
"Oh, I just made it up, from a film I watched!" But Max was looking at me grimly.
"Sabrina you have a scar just underneath your hair on the left side of your head. You told me it was from a knife wound, when you were younger, that fell on you. But it looks far too deep to be like that. Wouldn't you say?"
I kept silent. Tears were threatening to fall from my eyes. 'You have to stop crying soon.'
"Sabrina? You can tell us the truth. We won't judge you." Eddie tried to comfort me. I jerked away, hugging my knees close to my chest. 'The voices have gone away. You have to stop crying.'
"Talk to us damn!" Frankie hit me across the face. I just stared to the side, shocked. 'Their coming back now, but you mustn't cry. Do what's best.' I stood up, staring straight at the floor.
"I'm sorry. I don't want anyone knowing about this. I'm sorry."
Max tried to hold my hand but I flinched away. "Sabrina, we won't tell anyone. You know that."
"No I don't. But I know a way I can make sure you don't say anything. I'm very sorry. But this is going to hurt."
"What way? What's gonna hurt?" Jake was shaking. I stared straight at them, my eyes locked onto their shaking figures. No more tears.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'M SORRY!" I took my knife from my jacket sleeve and cut and sliced till the trees were red and my knife was and my hands too, and I was tired and my hands hurt but I didn't cry once, making sure my secret was safe all my best friends taking it to their graves, keeping it a secret, staying silent forever. As I walked away, I didn't cry once.

After all, you have to stop crying sometime.

End