Tag: Brooklyn

CAUTION: THIS STORY IS A REAL STORY, SO BEWARE IF YOU DON’T LIKE STORIES.

A package appeared in front of Lillie’s door in the middle of the night. She was very confused. Why would someone send me a package at 12:00? She opened the package and there was a stuffed puppy. Lillie took the puppy and went back up to bed, although she could not fall asleep. Who sent it? Why in the middle of the night? Why a puppy? 

In the morning, her mom asked if she had come downstairs. Lillie said, “Yep. I came down to have a glass of water, but I came right back up and fell asleep right away.”  

Lillie said that because she didn’t want her to worry. Her mom had a lot of things to deal with now that her mom and dad were divorced. Lillie lived with her mom. 

When Lillie got to school, her mom had to be VERY annoying. She yelled in front of the whole school, “WHERE’S MY SMOOCHY, SWEETIE?” 

Lillie did not smooch her and ran to her best friend, Caroline. Lillie was her friend starting in pre-K. They had always been inseparable. They were always in the same classes. It was kind of magical.

 At lunch, Lillie told her everything. She came over to Lillie’s house and Lillie showed her the puppy. It was gone. 

“Seriously? I have dance class and you wanted to show me a puppy that doesn’t exist!”

 That night, when Lillie came back for dinner, in the corner of the room, she found the puppy. Dinner was terrible. When she went back to bed, she put the puppy behind a locked door and left it for the night. 

In the morning, he was still there. She took him out and put him on the bed. The puppy was white with some black spots. She named him Spots. 

On the way home from school, Lille found a dog with the exact same design as Spots walking across the road with no collar – just like Spots. She picked him up and took him home. He had no identification. 

When Lillie got home, she looked for the puppy, but he wasn’t there. She got takeout that night, so it was very good. Lillie locked the dog in her room and fell asleep. 

In the morning, he was not there. There was a stuffed animal. Lillie put the stuffed animal in her backpack and went to school. 

She showed Caroline the stuffed dog. Then, she told her what happened last night. She was very freaked out!!!

That night, Lillie and the dog went to her house to have a sleepover. As you might have known, today was Friday!!!

They stayed up all night and watched the puppy transform into the real dog.

The next day, Lillie started trying to train him, but that didn’t take very long because he already knew how to sit, roll over, play dead, speak, and paw. He also knew the basics, like flying and going on fire. You might be wondering if that was just me joking, but he really could fly and set himself on fire. 

Lillie started going shopping to get him some dog food and a bed. She kept on wondering who sent her this dog. Then, Lillie realized that on the doll, there was a tag and that tag probably had some identification. When the real dog turned into the doll, it said, “SOMEBODY.” She was very confused and decided to give up for the day.

Then, a couple of days later, Caroline said that she was walking down the road and she overheard some people saying, “What a stupid gal she is. I don’t even know her name.”  

“She is a nice lady. Did you know I randomly live on Seventh Ave and Eighth Street? I also went to college with SOMEBODY.”

Then, right away, Lillie knew that she, the doll, and Caroline had to sneak out of their houses and go to SOMEBODY’s house. 

That evening, they snuck out. When they got to the house, it was very dark. It was like a little bit of space just filled with clouds and rain. It was 3:39, so it was bright outside, but in that little area, it was very dark, like it was midnight. They knocked on the door and the door creaked open. A slim man walked out. They asked to come in and it looked like he didn’t have a lot of visitors, so he looked nice. They came inside but there was only one couch and a lamp. Lillie asked him if he knew about SOMEBODY. He said that he went to college with him and that they were best friends, but they grew apart. He also told them that he lived right next door. Like, literally right next door. They rang the doorbell and there was a woman at the door. She slammed the door and opened the little peephole and screamed, “NAMES???” 

“My name is Lillie Frankenstein.”

The lady gasped. It was kind of like she was choking, but she wasn’t. Lillie repeated her name to her. She immediately let Lillie in with the others. When she let Lillie and Caroline in, she told them that the dog could also talk, and he ordered her to send him to them. She thought it was just random. He would kill her if she told him no, so she chickened out and listened to him. 

“SORRY.” She began to cry. “I am so sorry.”

Later that day, they all chucked the dog out of the bag they were keeping him in. He started licking them and they pushed him away. The dog started talking. “I don’t want any trouble, but you should have never trusted her. She hates dogs. She really, really, really HATES DOGS.” 

(Roll the backstory!) 

“SOMEBODY was born on October 20th and she loved dogs when she was two years old, although the dogs always barked at her and bit her and made her get rabies. When she went to the dog store, she went with her mom and got a dog. The dog loved SOMEBODY. But the only dog in the whole entire universe who loved SOMEBODY just had to despise her mom. It was a dark and stormy night when SOMEBODY’s mom was doing the laundry. The dog walked up to her and scratched her body in half. Blood was gushing out. So the house was filling up with blood. And poor SOMEBODY had to live on the streets, alone. When she turned twenty one, she bought her own house and she made enough money to go to college. SOMEBODY met Mark, the neighbor right next door.”

(Back to the present.)

“WOW!!!” Lillie kept repeating. “I had absolutely no idea that was why!”

“Remember this: she can be really persuasive for you to change your mind. And, most of all, I love the name Spots.” And, just like that, the puppy turned back into a doll. 

The next day, it was a holiday, so they did not have school. Caroline and Lillie were wondering how they were going to save the world. Then Lillie started thinking… Maybe if she said “dog” fourteen times, she would get an idea. 

“Dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog, dog.” Then, BOOM!!! It worked. She was going to have to go to SOMEBODY’s house and… 

(I DON’T MEAN TO INTERRUPT THE STORY, BUT THIS IS WHEN THE STORY STARTS TO GET DARK, SO IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE, THEN YOU SHOULD COVER YOUR EARS!! BACK TO THE STORY WHEN LILLIE WAS TALKING ABOUT HER MASTER PLAN.)

Lillie was going to have to go to SOMEBODY’s house and kill her. When she told Caroline, she totally lost all control, but it had to be done. The next morning, they went up to SOMEBODY’s house and tried to kill her, but she was waiting for Lillie with a sword. 

“What did that evil dog say to you?”

“NO!!! I know you are lying!!!” 

“Fine. I am not lying, but please don’t kill me. I will do no harm.” 

“You fool… I know your plan and I will never allow it!!” Lillie started throwing knives at her and she started to get scared. She dropped her weapon and surrendered and, just like that, the knife was through SOMEBODY’s heart and there was no one in the room. Lillie ran home and started crying.  

Spots crawled on the bed and under the sheets and said in a small voice, “Thank you. Every dog in the world will know your name.”

No one ever stepped into that room again. Even the police officers… and that is LITERALLY their job.

Editor’s note: This story is inspired by and responding to “The Little Mermaid.”

About 5 million years ago, a mermaid lived in a cool town filled with short buildings with fancy carvings and beautiful mosaics. She swam through the fake blue water until she got to her father, the King.
He told her, “I strongly believe that you should go to The Surface of the Water.”
She said to the short, bearded, well-dressed man, “I HATE The Surface and I like The Water.”
Her father looked at her in a discouraging way, “Go now. Also, be back by 5:31 on the dot for dinner.”
She started to swim away.
“Oh, and don’t forget to do your homework!”
The mermaid, Ariel, did the breaststroke to her house, picked up her chorus homework, and went up to The Surface. Ariel practiced singing her scales. Then she felt the faintest drop of rain. 0.01 seconds later, a thunderstorm emerged from the not-so-puffy clouds. A man fell off the cracking ship. He plunged into the water. Eventually, his head emerged from the crashing water. He grabbed onto the rock right next to Ariel. She paid no attention to the struggling man and kept on with her chorus homework. The stranger’s eyes flickered open but Ariel had already left.
Later that week, Ariel went to school like any other day, but in science class, Miss Ursula had a new lesson in mind.
“Children! Last night I had a dream where mermaids could walk on Land. So, I want one of you ladies and gents to volunteer to be teleported to Land!”
No one wanted to explore Land. Miss Ursula walked around the room questioning every student to see if they truly did not want to go to Land.
She stopped by Ariel, stared at her, and finally said, “You shall go up! You’re the King’s daughter, so surely you should go…”
She slowly bent down and came close to Ariel’s face and then booped her on the nose and smiled a deranged smile.
The next day, Ariel was teleported to the Land. She went exploring and found the man she had seen drowning. He was in a very fancy house on the shore of the water. She wanted to go investigate, so she peered around the tall, three-story house. It was decorated with vines and wisteria, near the front door there were all types of different flowers, including chrysanthemums, red and white roses, and jasmine flowers framing the doorway.
She crept to the back and peered into the second-floor window, which was open, where the man now was being tailored into a very fancy suit. A posh man, with a long mustache, was serving him grapes and cheese on tiny toothpicks. The man being tailored saw her and yelled out the open window, “You look familiar! Come up here right now!”
Ariel did what the man ordered and went in the front door that led to a winding staircase, up to the room where the mysterious man was. She peeked her head in and the man ushered her in.
The man, who claimed his name was Prince Eric, asked her, “I saw you somewhere, but where?”
Prince Eric pondered for a bit then came back to reality. “Oh! I saw you when I fell off that ship 2 days ago. You were singing so beautifully, what were you singing?”
“I was practicing my chorus homework. I was just singing ‘He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’.”
Then some time passed and Ariel and Prince Eric married and lived not very happily-ever-after.

Editor’s Note: Content warning — Murder/Violence

Chapter One: The Dog Catcher

Roster lived in New York City, and he loved it there. He had black fur and blue eyes. His best friends were a hamster named Peanut, a cat named Charlie, and the leader of the pack, who was called Rex. Peanut was all light brown with light brown eyes, and Charlie was black and white with blue eyes. Rex was black, white, and brown, and he had dark black eyes. He brought everybody food. They did not have someone who took care of them and fed them. Then, one day, while they were eating a pizza with STUFFED CRUST, a dog catcher came and scooped up Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex with his net, hurting a couple of them. When they woke up in their cells, they saw how high-tech the security was, and they knew that they were not getting out of there anytime soon.   

Chapter Two: The Escaping Plan

After a while, the dog catchers brought cat food for everyone to eat. Everyone thought it was horrible. That night, they planned their attack. The plan was when the dog catchers brought their food, they would all jump out. The next day, early before breakfast, a little boy and his mother chose to adopt Rex and took him home. Then, a crowd of people came rushing in, and the doors almost fell off their hinges. When all of the people left, Rex saw that Peanut and Charlie were gone, along with other pets he did not know.

Roster, Peanut, and Charlie opened their eyes. They were in a big dark place with other pets they didn’t really know. Then, a person in a yellow suit with a yellow mask put every pet back to sleep, and he did it by spraying sleeping gas on them. He was wearing a mask, so he was not affected by the sleeping gas. While Roster was getting his food, he jumped out and made a run for it. Now the person in the yellow suit was on the hunt for Roster, Peanut, and Charlie. When Roster, Peanut, and Charlie woke up, they were behind bars. When the person in the yellow suit and yellow mask came, they pretended they were asleep, so the person did not put them to sleep again. Peanut, Roster, and Charlie wondered if it would ever be the same, while Rex got a ninja suit and rope to save them.

Chapter Three: Owen 

The next day, a person with a name tag that had “Steve” written on it came in holding first class food, not some stinky cat food. Even Charlie hated that food, and he was a CAT! Then, Steve dropped the food and ran away because something crashed through the window. It was Rex in a ninja suit holding a kitchen knife with blood on it. Rex told them that it was chicken blood. Rex used the knife as a key to save them, but when he tried to, a man picked him up and took the knife and ninja costume away from Rex. He put Rex in a cage and picked up Roster, Peanut, and Charlie, shoving them into the same cage as Rex. They had trouble breathing, and when they thought they were going to suffocate, a little boy named Owen opened the cage and gave them all treats.

Later, Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex had dinner. Roster and Rex had dog food with gravy. Charlie had cat food with milk, and Peanut had sunflower seeds and water with a hint of carrot juice. Owen and his mother, Liz, had Chinese food. Roster, Peanut, and Charlie did not care because they loved their food anyway, but Rex really wanted some Chinese food. He whimpered and jumped up on their laps, begging for food. It worked! Rex got eight pieces of chicken, and he got some of the sauce with it. When it was time for bed, Owen brushed his teeth, and he also brushed Roster’s, Peanut’s, Charlie’s, and Rex’s teeth for them. Then the boy went to his bed, and Charlie slept on one of the pillows. Rex and Roster were curled up on the side of the bed near Owen’s head, and Peanut was between his hands.                           

Chapter Four: Rex’s Gone

In the middle of the night, Rex got up and crept out of bed and crept out of the room and then ran out the door, and as soon as he left, yellow eyes appeared out of the darkness holding a dagger and then followed Rex outside. When Roster, Peanut, and Charlie woke up, Rex was gone — he was nowhere to be found, and Owen’s mother was gone, too! And when they looked at Owen, there was a dagger stabbed in his chest. Owen was dead.

Roster, Peanut, and Charlie left the house and looked for Rex and Owen’s mother, Liz. After a while, they hit a dead end. They turned around to find Rex and Liz, but in the darkness in front of them there was a person with yellow eyes who then fell on the sidewalk. Rex was holding a dagger that was in that person’s chest. After that, they walked on the sidewalk and they saw the pizza with stuffed crust that started it all.

Rex picked it up with his mouth and said, “Let’s go somewhere the dog catcher will not find us.”

They found a nice spot, and when they were about to take a bite, dogs appeared out of nowhere and dragged Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster into a cold dungeon, slamming the door behind them. Now Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex were trapped in a dungeon with no food or water. They all realized they were not alone in the dungeon. Something was in there with them.

Chapter Five: Kicking Away

Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster all huddled together, and in a blink of an eye, Peanut was gone. Then, Charlie and Roster were gone too. Rex ran and kicked and kicked at the door, but it would not open. Then, Rex saw something in the distance. It was a black dog. Rex kicked the dog so hard that he split it in half. After he kicked the black dogs in half, he saw the leader, and he knew it was the leader because it was wearing a gold crowd. Rex punched the lights out of the leader, and then kicked the door open with a mega-kick.

Meanwhile, Peanut, Roster, and Charlie were dumped on the sidewalk and trapped in a metal cage. Rex ran to a costume store and got ninja costumes for all of them. Then, Rex found Charlie, Peanut, and Roster. THEN, REX SUPER-MEGA-ULTRA-KICKED THE METAL CAGE OPEN LIKE IT WAS NOTHING!!!

Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster ran and ran and ran until they stopped in front of a garbage can. Rex jumped up to see what was in the garbage can and saw a chicken, so he took that. Peanut picked up a carrot, Charlie picked up a fish, and Roster picked up a full can of baloney. They followed Rex to a rope, and Rex climbed it, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster following behind him. It led to a treehouse, where Rex took a bite of his chicken, Peanut nibbled his carrot, Roster opened his can and took a small bite of baloney, and Charlie took a big bite of fish. Then, they all realized something was climbing up the rope to them.

Chapter Six: Charlie’s Past

It was a skeleton wearing black robes and holding an ax. Peanut, Charlie, Rex, and Roster jumped out of the treehouse and onto the sidewalk. They were cornered against a door. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Rex and Peanut. Charlie and Roster made a run for it, and Rex threw a bone at the skeleton that made it fall apart. The bone turned around and picked up the ax. It flew back to Rex.

“Boomerang bone,” Charlie whispered to Roster.

They walked and walked until a net picked them up. They were back in a cage.

Roster turned around to look at Charlie. “Charlie, what are you doing?”

“Getting out of here,” whispered Charlie.

“Using your claws?”

“Yes, what else am I supposed to use?!”

That was when Roster noticed a scar on Charlie’s arm. 

“What is that scar on your arm?” Roster asked.

“Like you care.”

“I do care.” 

“You do?”

“Of course I do,” said Roster.

“Well, when I was young, my father wanted to kill me because he hated me, but when he tried to hit me with his sword, my mother jumped in the way and hit my arm. The sword flew and killed my mother and father, so I was on my own from then on.”    

Chapter Seven: Cats Everywhere 

Before Roster could say anything, Charlie’s cage opened and Charlie fell on the floor with a bang.

“Are you okay?” Roster asked, but Charlie did not answer. Roster tried to get out, but he could not. Roster did not know what to do. He sat in the corner of his cage, curled up.

Then, a wet, cold hand reached into the cage. It was a person in a yellow suit. The person told Roster that the place was closing, and if they did not get out in time, they would be trapped in there, and metal would surround the place they were in. Roster walked up to Charlie and tapped him. Roster saw the metal appearing from the roof, put Charlie on his back, and ran out of the store just in time.

Roster ran back to the treehouse. He was surprised to see Rex and Peanut there. All three  of them poked Charlie at the same time. Roster put his paw on Charlie’s stomach.

“Charlie’s still breathing,” said Roster.

“So, Charlie’s not dead?” asked Peanut.

“Nope, not dead,” said Roster. Then, he whispered under his breath, “Not yet, at least.” 

“What did you just say?” asked Peanut.

“Nothing!”

Then they heard rustling in the bushes. Rex, Peanut, and Roster turned around at the same time and saw a cat.

“Is that cat coming closer?” asked Peanut.

“One hundred percent, yes,” whispered Roster. 

Then they saw another one and another one.

“What do they want?” asked Peanut.

“It’s a trap. They’re surrounding us, and there is nowhere to go,” whispered Roster.

Chapter Eight: Leaving Earth

Then, the cats started to climb up the treehouse. Suddenly, Charlie got up, and a cat jumped on Charlie. Then, a cat jumped on Peanut.

“THE CAT IS TEN TIMES BIGGER THAN ME! IT’S GOING TO SQUASH ME!” screamed Peanut. 

Then a cat jumped on Roster, and a cat with a crown made of the most expensive fish jumped on Rex. When the cat got off Rex, another cat jumped on Rex. 

“I am the leader of the club of cats, and they treat me like I am their queen,” said the cat with the crown.

“You look like the opposite of a queen!” shouted Charlie.

The cat with the crown told the club, “Get them out of my sight, now.”

The cats put Peanut, Roster, Rex, and Charlie into a small rocket ship and blasted them off into space. When they blasted off, the Earth exploded behind them. Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex started to float in the rocket ship until they crashed into another planet. Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex opened their eyes and saw that they were in a hospital.

“They are finally awake. I have been waiting,” said a voice in the room.

Rex, Roster, Charlie, and Peanut stared at each other, and nobody moved a muscle.

Chapter Nine: News People

A few seconds later, Roster looked where Charlie had been, but Charlie was not there. Then, Roster turned to look at the window, and Charlie was there, whacking the window. Someone suddenly grabbed Charlie — it was the news people.

The news people said that they had been following them because of what they were doing. One of the news people grabbed Roster, Peanut, and Rex. The news people took them to another rocket ship. When they were all inside, the news people said, “The Earth did not blow up. It just looked like it blew up, and the cats that put you into the rocket ship died.”

Roster, Peanut, Charlie, and Rex just looked at each other and they knew what to do. They shoved the news people out of the window. Peanut saw parachutes in the back of the rocket ship and jumped out and parachuted to the ground. Then, they ran to a dumpster.

“Why are we at the dumpster again?” asked Charlie.

“Yeah, why are we here?” asked Peanut.

“Maybe we are gonna build something?” said Roster.

“We are going to build something: a robot dog. And we are going to turn this dumpster into a house for us,” said Rex.

Rex, Peanut, Charlie, and Roster got to work. They built a robot and an amazing house. When they took a step inside, it was amazing.

“It’s going to be a lot easier living in New York City with a house,” said Peanut.

“This house is amazing,” said Charlie.

“It is huge,” said Roster.

“That means more room to roam around,” said Peanut.

“Let’s check out the robot dog!” said Roster.

“CHICKEN, COME HERE!” shouted Rex.

The robot dog came, and a red light appeared in the dog’s eyes. KA-BLAM!

“The robot dog blew up… You know what? Let’s go inside the house.”

“Sounds good,” said Charlie. So, they went inside.

Chapter Ten: The Amazing House 

When they walked in, they saw more toys than they could count. In the corner, food bowls were filling up with the best food they could dream of.

“This house is the best,” said Charlie.

“Agreed,” said Roster with a mouth full of food.

“What should we do?” said Peanut.

“Play with all of these toys,” said Charlie.

They all played with the toys for about two hours. Then, they ate the food that they loved so much.

“I am tired,” said Peanut.

“Me, too,” said Roster.

“Me, three,” said Rex.

“Me, four,” said Charlie.

They opened the door to the bedroom, and it was amazing. There was a big bed, and Roster, Charlie, Peanut, and Rex slept on the bed like kings and queens. Peanut was snoring like this: “ZZZZZ!”

Roster, Charlie, and Rex were able to sleep at least. Finally, they could rest and enjoy themselves for once in New York City.

Driver

The girl is silent. This is unusual. The driver should know. He picks hitchhikers up wherever he can, and there’s always a, “Thanks,” or a, “Where to?” or at least a, “Hey, can I ride shotgun?”
Not so with this one.
And that’s not the only reason she’s strange either. She has the height and slightly rebellious posture of an eleven-year-old but wearing a trench coat made for a 50-year-old brooding detective with a high collar she’s keeping tightly wrapped around her neck, so it’s totally concealed. Though her position exposes her wrists–which are completely covered with bruises and tiny cuts. She’s also barefoot.
The driver knows the look of an escaped prisoner. He’s picked them up a few times, as this area is notorious for its prisons and other secure facilities.. He knows the bruises on the wrists that indicate having worn handcuffs for a long time, the frantic look of their eyes, the tense, twitching way they hold themselves — as if they might have to bolt any second. Of course, the first three times he picked up escapees, he brought them to the nearest police station immediately. But there’s something about this girl…
Normally he would respect a hitchhiker’s privacy, but now he decides he needs to probe.
“So… ah, what’s your name, young lady?” He glances at her in the rearview mirror. A patch of something red is starting to spread over the collar of her coat. Her eyes flit nervously to him.
“Ahh… Ah… ” she stutters. Her voice is hoarse as if she hasn’t used it in a while. This worries him.
“Amelia? He prompts after hesitating. “Anna?”
“Ah…. ” her mouth presses into a firm line. “Aaaaa….. mnesia.”
“You… have amnesia?” Now he is truly worried.
“Amnesia.”
He thinks for a moment. “So… you can’t remember?”
“Can’t remember,” she repeats triumphantly.
“Ah… do you have any idea… why you can’t remember?”
Her mouth goes into that line again. He realizes that’s all he’s going to get out of her on the matter. “Well, should I call your parents? Your guardians?”
No answer.
“Do you…have any family?”
Nothing.
“Well… I have to call someone.” Keeping one hand on the wheel, the driver reaches for his phone, lying next to him, with his other hand. He is about to dial 911 when he catches the strange girl’s eye in the mirror. He suddenly finds he can’t look away. Then, it happens. Her pupils constrict– just a little. Then the feeling– as if something in his mind, just a bit off for years, has finally clunked into place.
His hand slowly moves away from his phone and comes to rest at two o’clock on the wheel.
“No family… that’s all right. I don’t have any either. They’re all gone, you see.” At that word, something seems to click in her mind as well.
“Gone… ” she says. “Gone… my family is gone.”

Officer

The girl scares him. She shouldn’t.
Granted, she is scary. But so was the 17-year-old with the blood-red mohawk who was dealing drugs. So was the bald 14-year-old girl with obscenities tattooed up and down both arms, twirling a pistol in her hand. And so was the teen before that, and the one before that, and the hundreds he’s seen over the years. Being stationed at one of New City’s busiest subway stations, you get freaks like that. All. The. Time.
But this freak is different. Usually they strut around looking for trouble or flaunting their disturbing tattoos. She keeps to herself, huddling in a corner formed by a dumpster and the wall. And the officer isn’t exactly up-to-date with the fashion scene at the moment, but he is pretty sure that a sweaty old ripped undershirt, long pink gloves, tight white shorts that barely cover her bottom, and a vibrant orange scarf are unusual even for a subway freak. Her undyed, shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair sticks out everywhere in a very undignified way.
Then it strikes him that she’s not wearing any shoes. Something is very wrong here. He decides to move in. In this line of work, you learn to follow every lead.
She smiles pleasantly at him when he approaches. “Hello,” she says. Her voice is smooth — too smooth. Her tone is flawless.
“Hello,” he says, slowly and cautiously. Then he tells himself to man up. This scrawny 11-year-old shouldn’t scare him. He’s 42, in prime shape for his age, and has a gun. He needs to assert himself. “Ma’am,” he begins sternly, “I’m afraid shoes are mandatory in this station.”
“Is that so?” she asks sweetly.
“Yes, it is. Rule 307 of the Customer Service Policy states clearly on the New City Public Transportation website.”
“Oh.” She makes a little squeal. “Well, I didn’t know that – ” And then, it happens. The slight constricting of the pupils — and the strangest feeling, as though something in his mind, sunken to the bottom after years of forgetfulness, is sifted to the top.
“Officer Davis Davidson,” she finishes.
“I — I’m sorry.” Davis Davidson is stunned. Because that’s not his name.
She smiles again. Her full lips look red in the dim light. He doesn’t fully register it, because she takes one step sideways away from him.
Through his shock, he can hear dimly the roar that signals the arrival of a train. The girl cocks her head to one side playfully. “Well, I need to get going,” she grins, flashing yellow teeth. Then she is gone.
The officer stands there, frozen, for 15 more minutes before one of his co-workers finds him.
When he climbs into bed that night, he can’t stop thinking about what the girl called him.
The badge reads Officer McShirley — that’s the surname he took when he was married. And well before that, when he was 20, he had changed his last name to Johnson. All the records show either McShirley or Johnson. There’s no way she could have known.
But he was born Davis Davidson.

Cashier

The girl is ugly. Normally, the cashier isn’t a judgmental person, but this is simply a fact. Her hopelessly tangled and muddy hair reaches down to the floor, her face is covered in nettles and scratches, and he’s pretty sure those are real cockroaches on her arms. To say nothing of her fashion sense. She looks like she just escaped from a jail — a low-budget jail. She’s wearing a ripped white undershirt and tight, white shorts that barely cover three inches, and no shoes. There are scars and bruises covering her wrists and neck. The cashier isn’t the brightest (it’s not part of the job description) so he doesn’t stop to think how she might have gotten them. He simply checks her items.
Bread, carrots, apples, frozen peas, frozen French Fries, a pint of mint ice cream, and two six-packs of water bottles. Not exactly typical shopping for a 12-year-old girl — they usually come in giggling with Haribos and sodas and lip gloss. This girl looks wise beyond her years, like a crazed sage living on a mountain eating worms. There’s a breathless expression on her face like she’s been through something horrible, and is simply glad to be alive. It troubles the cashier.
“Your total is $29.99,” he tells her. “Paper or plastic?”
“Nothing reusable?” Her voice is hoarse, but kind.
“No,” he tells her, looking at her defiantly.
She makes a tsking noise and makes eye contact with him. She looks almost regretful. Then it happens.
Her pupils constrict, and the cashier gets the strangest feeling — as though out of his clogged and overstuffed brain, off his burdened shoulders, something has been taken.
And then it’s as if he’s closed his eyes — just darkness and darkness and darkness. He tries to open his eyes, but they are open. He can hear the clamor of the supermarket, smell the cleaning products, taste the stale gum in the back of his mouth, feel the coarse fabric of his uniform against his hands — but he cannot see. He hears the girl giggle, hears the rustling and clunking of objects being dropped into a bag, and the pad of her feet running away.
The cashier slumps to his knees. His head droops and a few salty tears seep out of his blind eyes.

Reporter

The girl shouldn’t be here. But the reporter seems to be the only one who’s noticed, as usual. She’s come to realize that, even though she’s only an intern at LINN (Leg International News Network), she’s really the only competent member of her team. Which is unfortunate, because they’ve been assigned the war-spurred chaos in B’leg.
The girl really shouldn’t be here, for her own safety. There are crazed gangs and resistance fighters with machine guns and hand grenades everywhere. Even wearing a bulletproof vest, the reporter doesn’t feel safe. And this girl looks only ten, wearing a shirt that says My Grandma went to Seaside States and all I got was this stupid T-Shirt, a ridiculous flamingo scarf, and jean shorts that clash horribly.
She is about to stride over to the girl to tell her to clear out when their team leader grabs her by the arm.
“Avery!” he says sharply. “We need you on set! We’re live in 30 seconds! Where have you been?” Five feet away, she thinks as he drags her away.
The camera is pointed at a dramatic landscape of burning buildings and half-naked, starving people running around and shrieking. It seems like something straight out of the pages of a dystopian novel.
The team leader shoves a microphone into Avery’s hands and gestures impatiently at the cameraman. He nods, and Avery puts on her professional face.
“Hello, Leg,” the leader announces pompously. “This is Alex Alexander, everyone’s favorite re – ”
“We are live from war-torn B’leg!” Avery shouts into her mic. It lets out a squeal of feedback in protest. Alex Alexander gives her a look, but she’s already decided to take matters into her own hands. “The half-starved screams of innocent citizens caught in the crossfire fill the air, and the sharp tang of gunpowder is inescapable. Mud, fire, and death pollute these streets. And after the merciless attack of the resistance fighters, it is sadly proven once again that innocence never lasts forever… ” She pulls a six-year-old boy clutching a teddy bear that’s half ashes into the camera frame. “Young man! What was your life like before the attack?”
“Uh… my name is Humphrey and I guess I liked watching cartoons. You know that one with the rabbit and the roach? That was my favorite. But then… I mean… ”
Avery makes a roll the clip motion with her hand. Across Leg, their viewers will see a recording of yesterday’s attack. Avery waits thirty seconds, then continues talking. “After this ruthless rampage of ruination – ” (audiences adore alliteration) “ – everyone in B’leg is changed. Now, Humphrey is lucky when the news turns on! I – ”
“True,” comes a loud voice.
Avery whirls around. A girl — the girl is standing there. In their frame. “Excuse me?”
The girl’s face, framed by hair that’s black at the top and white at the bottom, with only the barest shade of gray in between, twists into an expression of horror. “I — I’m so sorry – ”
“Hey!” shouts Alex Alexander stupidly. “That’s the girl I saw you with!”
Then the strangest thing happens — a flash of events in the space of a few seconds. The girl’s eyes constrict and something flashes in them — a truth, ancient and mystical and powerful. Then they glaze over, and she speaks.
“True,” she says.
“Wait, what?” Alexander asks slowly, befuddled.
Avery sighs. “She – ” then she stops, because she realizes she doesn’t actually know what the girl did. Or what she said.
“Ha!” Humphrey cries. “Polly, ya did it again!”
The girl –- Polly? — looks uncomfortable. “Humph.”
But the boy is suddenly talking animatedly to Avery. “I found ‘er a few weeks ago. Hid her in my basement. At first, I was just doing a good deed, but then I found out she has powers.”
Another member of the team, Julia, who used to work in the tabloids, jumps in. “Is this boy crazed? In shock? Who is the Girl from B’leg?! Some may call these questions mere conspiracy theories, but the truth-seekers among you should check your newsstands.” She stops, realizing she’s live on national television. “Sorry, old habits.”
Then it happens again. The constricting of the girl’s eyes, and she speaks, “True.”
“Told ya!” Humphrey practically shrieks. “Powers! See, she can tell the truth from a lie!”
“True.”
“Watch: My name is Humphrey.”
“True.”
“My name is Alex Alexander.”
“False. Humphrey, I really don’t want to do this, not on television.”
“Actually, we’re not rolling,” interrupts the cameraman. “Not since she – you appeared.”
“True. Oh. But still – ”
“The camera’s not rolling!”
“True – Humphrey, please – ”
“You sleep in my basement.”
“True.” Her face has the pained look of someone about to do something they know they’ll regret. “Humphrey, I’m sorry… ”
And before Avery can say “wait,” she has vanished into the burning city.

Hiker

The girl is not there.
The girl must be a figment of the hiker’s imagination.
The girl cannot be real.
The girl is not there.
Besides, no girl is that strange. She’s a child — she looked 12 or 13. She was also completely bald, and had no eyebrows, eyelashes, or hair of any kind. She was dressed in a ripped white undershirt stained with red and green juices, tight white pants that stand out against her dark brown skin, and no shoes.
Besides, if she was real, how could she have gotten there? Sure, there was a hiking trail nearby, but nobody with half a brain went hiking barefoot. And there are no roads or highways within ten miles. If her car had broken down and she’d wandered into the woods, she wouldn’t have wandered this far.
Which only leaves the possibility that she’s completely insane. The hiker refuses that one. She doesn’t want to admit it, but insane people scare her.
So, the girl is not there.
But then she is.
She is there.
Behind a tree! A pine tree. The hiker knows, somehow, that this moment will be fixed in her memory till the end of her days — the moment when all her dreams and imaginings became real.
This time, the hiker doesn’t hesitate. She plunges through a bush and starts toward the bald girl.
The girl’s eyes widen, her mouth parts in shock, and she darts away.
The hiker chases after, determined now. She tumbles through dense patches, rushes through the brief clearing where the sun streaks through the ceiling of twisting branches. She never knew the woods could be like this — crowded, thorny, dark, mysterious. Like a fairy tale. Years of hiking have only taught her cleared, dusty paths. It’s a wonder to see the forest like this. But she doesn’t let it distract her. She stays focused on the prize — the girl.
She races through the forest, following the flashes of the girl she glimpses through the maze of trees for a good fifteen minutes, until they reach a clearing carpeted with pine needles painted gold by the setting sun. There, in that little alcove of the wild, she is surprised to find a small log cabin. There are no windows, but there is a smoking little chimney. The hiker grabs the knob of the door, but it’s locked.
“Hey… ” she calls apprehensively. Silence. “I – I know you’re in there. Please, just come out. I’m not going to hurt you. Unless you’re insane. Sorry. I didn’t mean that. But — unlock the door, please.”
Nothing.
“Look…. I don’t want to break this door down… ” Nothing. “I could if I wanted to… ” That is true. The door is made of rotting wood planks that look like they might decompose on the spot with one good kick. And the hiker’s legs are pretty strong from years of climbing mountains.
She waits another few seconds, debating. There is something wrong with this girl — that much was clear from the start. But what if she’s in danger? What if she thought the hiker was someone else? What if there was someone so horrible she felt the need to run barefoot through a forest and hide in a crumbling log cabin to get away from?
The door comes down on the third kick.
The cabin is damp and moldy inside. There is a smoking fireplace, a decaying table, and a single chair. The floor is leaves and dirt — one area is scuffed up where the girl might have been sleeping.
And huddling, knees to chest, her face to the wall, shaking, sobbing in a corner is the girl.
“Hey… ” the hiker says softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please… ”
Slowly, the girl gets to her feet, still facing the corner. The sobbing slows until it is mere sniffling.
Then she speaks in a low, shaking, tear-stained voice.
“I need you to leave,” she says slowly. Then she sniffles loudly. “I need you to leave… right now. Leave, and you can’t tell anyone what you saw… ” She puts her head in her hands and starts wailing again.
“I — I don’t understand – ”
“LEAVE!” she roars. “I don’t — I can’t – ” Then more sobbing.
“Look,” the hiker says hesitantly. “I’m sure that whatever it is – ”
“You need to go,” she repeats, controlling the shaking in her voice. There’s an unexpected fierceness. “Please. Now. I can’t – ”
“Look – ”
“You should have left.”
The girl keeps her head down, but drops her hands to her sides. Then she turns around.
There is a tense pause.
Then she picks up her head and their eyes meet —
And it happens — the constricting of those midnight-black pupils — the feeling — the emptiness — yawning before her —
The hiker collapses with a thump.
And when she is dead, when the girl is alone in the woods, no one can hear her scream.