Journalstone's 2010 Warped Words for Twisted Minds Read Online Free PDF Page B

and what was make believe.
    However, as the years passed and the lie of Santa Claus was revealed, her belief in mystical creatures turned to disappointment. When discovering that these things only existed in storybooks, Emily became more and more alarmed that the soul snatchers didn't die away with all the other imaginary beings. She began to wonder about them, to stare at them rather than divert her eyes. And she began to notice that they were everywhere; they existed with the darkness, so that something as simple as turning off the light meant instantly being surrounded by them.
    The soul snatchers at first didn't realize Emily could see them, as it was so rare to be seen by a human. But as Emily started to pay more attention to them, the soul snatchers noticed. They hated that she could see them. Her eyes were pinpoints of light that bore into their bodies like a burning knife. They began to stalk her, to torment her with their thoughts whenever she was close enough to listen. They sent her images of soul snatchers ripping apart her soul and sucking it piece by piece into their gaping mouths.
    The hands on the clock slowly ticked towards the end of the school day. Just a few minutes left. Emily sat at her desk with her head resting on her arms. She was exhausted from so many sleepless nights. For a while, leaving the light on had been enough. Lately, though, she drifted off to sleep only to be confronted by vivid nightmares, and would wake up screaming several times throughout the night. A foggy memory of a whispered threat lingered in her ears each morning: “We'll get you in the darkness. We're waiting for you.”
    The last time the electricity went out was a close call. She had been sitting in class, trying to figure out the math equation the teacher had written on the board. When everything went black, all the students screamed in startled excitement. Emily screamed, too, but her voice died away as an icy grip tightened on her throat. A static sound, like white noise, filled her head. She could barely breathe. And she could see the soul snatchers suddenly beside her. She stood up, knocking over her chair, and ran out of the classroom, down the hall, and out the front doors, all the while hearing the ragged breathing of the soul snatchers as they pursued and taunted her.
    Out in the sunlight, Emily felt the icy grip vanish, and she began to scream with her recovered voice. Her teachers and classmates, along with the principal, had rushed outside to see what was happening. All they found was Emily, screaming unintelligibly about the darkness. Her parents were finally called to come pick her up. The whole thing horribly embarrassed Emily, but at least she had learned her lesson: from then on, she had a flashlight with her at all times and spare batteries, too.
    A shrill ringing erupted over the loud speakers, and the students rose in practical unison, thrilled that another school day had come to an end. Emily grabbed her bag and was packing up her homework when her best friend, Sherrie, approached.
    “Hey Em! My mom said it was okay to have a sleep over this weekend. Want to come over? I have Justin Bieber DVDs!” Sherrie squealed and clapped her hands together. “Ooh! And I can do your hair!”
    Emily opened her mouth to reply, but Alicia, the queen bee of the 5th grade social scene, cut in. “Do you own a night-light, Sherrie?”
    Sherrie shook her head no and looked down at the floor.
    “Then, I believe Emily's answer is 'no'. Unless you don’t mind sleeping with the light on. Hmm, but then you still have the monsters that live under the bed. And, the boogieman in the closet. You should really spend more time in the kindergarten class, Sherrie, since you like to hang out with kids who act like 5 year olds.”
    Alicia tossed her long, auburn hair over her shoulder and walked away with a smug grin.
    Emily fought back the tears that threatened to emerge from behind her eyes. She wished she could be normal like