Second place, over 12:

I’m now writing this from my cell 32B. It was March 10, 1883. All the snow was finally melting as we’ve been waiting for it to do so. It was a very nice day outside. The birds were starting to chirp and the sky was as blue as the ocean. I was taking my annual midday walk when suddenly, I heard this exasperating noise that I could not bear. This was now going on for 10 minutes. The weird part is that it seems that no one is bothered by it. It just kept getting louder and louder and LOUDER AND LOUDER! I couldn’t take it anymore. I eventually went towards where I thought it was coming from. That was the biggest mistake of my life.

The sound led me past the town square and down the old mill road. The air turned colder with every step, though the sun still shone. The noise grew sharper, almost like metal scraping against bone. My heart pounded as I followed it to the door of the abandoned mill.

When I pushed the door open, the sound stopped. Dust floated in the sunlight that spilled through broken windows. I was about to turn back when I heard a whisper, it was my own name. I froze. The whisper came again, closer this time, echoing off the walls.

Something was in there with me.

From the shadows, a shape began to form. It was tall, twisted, with limbs too long and eyes that glowed faintly red. It smiled, and the sound returned, piercing, drilling into my skull. I tried to run, but my body betrayed me. It reached out a hand, cold as the grave, and everything went black.

When I awoke, I was outside, lying in the snowmelt. The townspeople surrounded me, their faces pale with horror. The mill was burning, though no one had lit a fire. They said I was screaming when they found me, holding something that wasn’t there.

No one believes what I saw. They say madness took me. But each night, as darkness falls and the air grows still, I hear it again, the sound from the mill, calling my name, louder and louder, until I can’t tell if it’s out there or if it’s inside my head.

Zachary May, New Ipswich

Mascenic Regional High School

Age 16