Story 1
Halloween Story
I took a deep breath before drawing back the black curtain that separated me and my unknown death. The moment I did so, I was greeted by a loud scream coming from a masked man who stepped in my path. I heard my best friend, Brynn's laugh from behind and whirled around to see her broad smile. Behind Brynn, I saw my twin sister, Scarlett who seemed just as happy. The three of us continued down the dark path, through the creaking doors and made turns whenever necessary, until we found the exit of the haunted house and stepped out into the cold, October air. We passed by a table filled with hot drinks and popcorn and took advantage of it, each grabbing a steaming cup. I looked to my left and saw Brynn talking to Noah, another friend of ours. My eyes scanned the people around us, searching for the familiar red hair belonging to my sister, but she was nowhere that I could see. I heard the soft ringing of my phone and looked down to see a text message from my sister's number. A video was attached to it. I clicked the play button and watched as my sister’s body was flung side to side and kicked against the familiar stone wall of the haunted house, right next to me. A glint of a blade flashed on the screen, and in that moment I heard the piercing scream from inside the house, although this one was unmistakably not a scream of fear, but of pain. I rushed inside to see a pile of blood pooled in the hallway that I stood in, just moments before. I looked to the side as something glinted in the corner of my eye, a few strands of auburn hair, the same that was attached to my own head. I averted my gaze back to the ground, the red police lights shone through the window down on the floor, illuminating the pool of blood beneath my feet, in the colour of its victim, it illuminated the floor a shade of red, so deep, it could be called scarlet.
I drew back the curtain of my bedroom window and looked outside. I looked down at my phone and saw the date shine up at me, October 31st, the four year anniversary of my sisters unconfirmed death. For the first year since it happened, I decided to visit the haunted house, I was going to stand in the same place where my twin sister died. Brynn, who was still my best friend promised to accompany me, so when the time came we all took our seats in the back of her car and made our way to the one place I avoided the last four years of my life. A few minutes later, we had parked in the driveway. I took a deep breath and closed the door behind me. I walked to the front entrance, the sound of crisp autumn leaves under my boots. I could feel Brynn waiting behind me for me to make the first move, I extended my hand and folded my fingers around the cold doorknob. The second I turned it and pushed the door open, bright orange lights started blinking as we ducked under fake, plastic hands dangling from the ceiling. We surpassed a man holding a chainsaw, and more masked figures when a person wearing a red cloak crossed my path, waving me forward. I looked behind me for Brynn, but I couldn't see her anywhere down the hall behind me. I looked back towards the girl who gestured for me to follow her and decided to listen, making my way down the hall she walked through. I opened a glass door and looked down at my feet, the familiar red colour of blood flowed from the centre of the room, where a lifeless body lay on the floor. I ran towards the body, and knelt on the floor beside it, drenching my knees in blood. I looked at the girl's face, feeling for a pulse, nothing. Her familiar blue eyes looked up at me. Brynn. I had lost my best friend and sister in the same place, in this haunted house on Halloween. I looked up at the walls, which were completely mirrored, the way I had come in was now blocked off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of the girl who had led me here, I saw her dress reflect off the mirrors that surrounded me and my best friend's dead body. I looked around for an exit, tears blurring my vision. I quickly realized that there was no way out, I couldn't go the way I came. I slowly took of Brynn`s high heel from her foot and lifted it over my head. I thrusted it towards the glass, watching it shatter down to the floor. I thought about carrying Brynn out of the room, but opted to run and go get help first. I carefully maneuvered around the glass shards, careful not to cut myself. I made it out of the room and into the normal haunted house, although not taking my time to be scared by people in costumes. I ran and ran until I neared the exit and burst through the last door. I ran down the hill to the dock on the lake of the property that the house belonged to. I sat there, gasping for breath. I heard the sound of footsteps behind me and turned to see the girl who had been in the haunted house. Except it wasn’t just any girl, it was my twin sister Scarlett, who was presumably murdered four years ago.
“Sister…” She started, a terrorized look in her eyes. “It’s been a while.”
“No kidding” was all I managed to say. I took a breath and continued “You’re supposed to be dead”
“Supposed to be dead?” She laughed. “I thought you would be happy to see me.”
“I could think of a few other words than happy” I said.
“Careful.” she warned. “If you go around talking like that someone might think you actually want me dead.”
“Up until now I thought you were.” I admitted. “Don’t you think you should explain?”
“Of course I’ll explain” she said, taking a step towards me, I felt her firm grip on my shoulder as I lost my footing and she pushed me into the icy cold water. I felt my body petrify as I realized what just happened. I came up, looking at her with disbelief.
“I’ll explain how you took everything from me, how you were always in the spotlight while I was somewhere in the dark. I’ll explain how our best friend, Brynn chose you over me and how I faked my death to give you what you wanted; a life without me.” I was shocked, never in my life had those words crossed my mind, Scarlett was my twin, if anything I was envious of her and her popularity.
“I came here to get revenge, I killed Brynn for her undying love to you and hatred towards me, and now I’m here to get revenge from you.” I was about to start defending myself and tell her that Brynn had loved us both equally and we’d never suggested anything different, when she placed her hand around my head and pushed me, with brutal force, under the water. My lungs stung from pain as I clung to the hope that she would realise how wrong she was. That she would give me a second chance. I felt my head grow small as the need for warmth and oxygen overwhelmed me and I felt myself slipping out of consciousness., when suddenly it wasn’t my sister's hands pushing me down, it was someone else's lifting me up. I shook violently as the people I didn’t recognize bundled me in warm blankets and carried me up to safety. I looked to the side for a moment before closing my eyes, watching my murderous twin sister wind her ways through the trees. She turned for a moment, staring me right in the eye when a ribbon from her dress was pulled of by a branch. I watched her run into the darkness, leaving the ribbon behind. It dangled on the tree, there in the moonlight in the unmistakable colour, scarlet.
I took a deep breath before drawing back the black curtain that separated me and my unknown death. The moment I did so, I was greeted by a loud scream coming from a masked man who stepped in my path. I heard my best friend, Brynn's laugh from behind and whirled around to see her broad smile. Behind Brynn, I saw my twin sister, Scarlett who seemed just as happy. The three of us continued down the dark path, through the creaking doors and made turns whenever necessary, until we found the exit of the haunted house and stepped out into the cold, October air. We passed by a table filled with hot drinks and popcorn and took advantage of it, each grabbing a steaming cup. I looked to my left and saw Brynn talking to Noah, another friend of ours. My eyes scanned the people around us, searching for the familiar red hair belonging to my sister, but she was nowhere that I could see. I heard the soft ringing of my phone and looked down to see a text message from my sister's number. A video was attached to it. I clicked the play button and watched as my sister’s body was flung side to side and kicked against the familiar stone wall of the haunted house, right next to me. A glint of a blade flashed on the screen, and in that moment I heard the piercing scream from inside the house, although this one was unmistakably not a scream of fear, but of pain. I rushed inside to see a pile of blood pooled in the hallway that I stood in, just moments before. I looked to the side as something glinted in the corner of my eye, a few strands of auburn hair, the same that was attached to my own head. I averted my gaze back to the ground, the red police lights shone through the window down on the floor, illuminating the pool of blood beneath my feet, in the colour of its victim, it illuminated the floor a shade of red, so deep, it could be called scarlet.
I drew back the curtain of my bedroom window and looked outside. I looked down at my phone and saw the date shine up at me, October 31st, the four year anniversary of my sisters unconfirmed death. For the first year since it happened, I decided to visit the haunted house, I was going to stand in the same place where my twin sister died. Brynn, who was still my best friend promised to accompany me, so when the time came we all took our seats in the back of her car and made our way to the one place I avoided the last four years of my life. A few minutes later, we had parked in the driveway. I took a deep breath and closed the door behind me. I walked to the front entrance, the sound of crisp autumn leaves under my boots. I could feel Brynn waiting behind me for me to make the first move, I extended my hand and folded my fingers around the cold doorknob. The second I turned it and pushed the door open, bright orange lights started blinking as we ducked under fake, plastic hands dangling from the ceiling. We surpassed a man holding a chainsaw, and more masked figures when a person wearing a red cloak crossed my path, waving me forward. I looked behind me for Brynn, but I couldn't see her anywhere down the hall behind me. I looked back towards the girl who gestured for me to follow her and decided to listen, making my way down the hall she walked through. I opened a glass door and looked down at my feet, the familiar red colour of blood flowed from the centre of the room, where a lifeless body lay on the floor. I ran towards the body, and knelt on the floor beside it, drenching my knees in blood. I looked at the girl's face, feeling for a pulse, nothing. Her familiar blue eyes looked up at me. Brynn. I had lost my best friend and sister in the same place, in this haunted house on Halloween. I looked up at the walls, which were completely mirrored, the way I had come in was now blocked off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of the girl who had led me here, I saw her dress reflect off the mirrors that surrounded me and my best friend's dead body. I looked around for an exit, tears blurring my vision. I quickly realized that there was no way out, I couldn't go the way I came. I slowly took of Brynn`s high heel from her foot and lifted it over my head. I thrusted it towards the glass, watching it shatter down to the floor. I thought about carrying Brynn out of the room, but opted to run and go get help first. I carefully maneuvered around the glass shards, careful not to cut myself. I made it out of the room and into the normal haunted house, although not taking my time to be scared by people in costumes. I ran and ran until I neared the exit and burst through the last door. I ran down the hill to the dock on the lake of the property that the house belonged to. I sat there, gasping for breath. I heard the sound of footsteps behind me and turned to see the girl who had been in the haunted house. Except it wasn’t just any girl, it was my twin sister Scarlett, who was presumably murdered four years ago.
“Sister…” She started, a terrorized look in her eyes. “It’s been a while.”
“No kidding” was all I managed to say. I took a breath and continued “You’re supposed to be dead”
“Supposed to be dead?” She laughed. “I thought you would be happy to see me.”
“I could think of a few other words than happy” I said.
“Careful.” she warned. “If you go around talking like that someone might think you actually want me dead.”
“Up until now I thought you were.” I admitted. “Don’t you think you should explain?”
“Of course I’ll explain” she said, taking a step towards me, I felt her firm grip on my shoulder as I lost my footing and she pushed me into the icy cold water. I felt my body petrify as I realized what just happened. I came up, looking at her with disbelief.
“I’ll explain how you took everything from me, how you were always in the spotlight while I was somewhere in the dark. I’ll explain how our best friend, Brynn chose you over me and how I faked my death to give you what you wanted; a life without me.” I was shocked, never in my life had those words crossed my mind, Scarlett was my twin, if anything I was envious of her and her popularity.
“I came here to get revenge, I killed Brynn for her undying love to you and hatred towards me, and now I’m here to get revenge from you.” I was about to start defending myself and tell her that Brynn had loved us both equally and we’d never suggested anything different, when she placed her hand around my head and pushed me, with brutal force, under the water. My lungs stung from pain as I clung to the hope that she would realise how wrong she was. That she would give me a second chance. I felt my head grow small as the need for warmth and oxygen overwhelmed me and I felt myself slipping out of consciousness., when suddenly it wasn’t my sister's hands pushing me down, it was someone else's lifting me up. I shook violently as the people I didn’t recognize bundled me in warm blankets and carried me up to safety. I looked to the side for a moment before closing my eyes, watching my murderous twin sister wind her ways through the trees. She turned for a moment, staring me right in the eye when a ribbon from her dress was pulled of by a branch. I watched her run into the darkness, leaving the ribbon behind. It dangled on the tree, there in the moonlight in the unmistakable colour, scarlet.
Story 2
Orca Camp Trip 2015
The trip I had been looking forward to since the day I left the year prior had finally arrived. We ditched our old tradition of leaving the house at an agonizingly ungodly hour in the morning and decided to leave before dinner in the evening. After loading our oversized luggage onto the greyhound my dad, sister and I seated ourselves in the oversized van and made our way to Merritt. Compared to our regular 12 hour trip to Port McNeill, the three hour drive to Merritt was nothing to us. The bad part was the kayak loading. We met the person who had the boats we needed at the hotel we would be staying at and he drove us about thirty minutes out of the town. There were three kayaks that needed loading onto our van and only after two hours had we successfully achieved that. We drove the half hour back to the hotel, where we met my mom and crashed, getting the few hours of sleep that we could before the long days ahead.
At four in the morning we trudged our way back into the van and drove all the way to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Despite my pleading I was denied my favourite part of the trip, the gelato from the factory in the terminal. I get that it was eight in the morning, but it’s never too early for italian ice cream, am I right? Our luck with whales began way earlier than expected, so early that we saw them on the ferry ride. I don’t know what it is about the animals but everytime I see them I feel the same excitement as I did the first time. After eating our breakfast (not gelato) on the ferry we loaded back into our car and headed off to Port McNeill. After another six hour drive we met up with a family from Austria and ate a seafood dinner together in the Northern Lights attached to the only hotel in Port McNeill, the Hideaway (yes, the name is perfectly suited) and went to bed, excited for tomorrow.
This morning was scheduled for whale watching. After breakfast we walked down to the dock and got onto the covered boat. We got to know our hilarious guide, Bill and reunited with a family friend from Germany, a professional photographer whose goal was to take new photos of our adventures on the island for the company's website. We saw four pods of residents and a humpback. We even witnessed a spy hop and a female came to arm's length next to our boat. We were already so lucky and it was only the first day. The part I was most looking forward to was coming up, we were heading to camp. We met up with our water taxi driver, James and his fiance and cruised away to camp. As soon as the bow of our boat passed the familiar cliff I had come to know so well our beach came into view. My eyes scanned the beautiful surroundings of lush green trees, the smell of cedar and salt water refreshed the air as I gazed over the people loading their supplies to where they would pack them onto the boat when it left us on the beach. My family knew what to do; we jumped down the steps onto the deck and started swinging luggage through a chain onto the beach. Once everything was off the boat, we started loading it with the other groups belongings and then it was time for me to climb across the outside and down the ladder. I gave a hug to the guides whom I have known forever as my feet hit the beach and immediately ran to see everything that had changed. I ran up the stairs to the kitchen shelter and then climbed the cliff that only my sister and I knew was the best viewing platform for the whales. After viewing my favourite highlights I joined my dad for the tour he was presenting to the people who had not been there before, where he showed us his pride and joy, the shower. Built with plenty of red cedar planks and running with hot water it was a complete luxury, better than any five star hotel, if I do say so myself. After a stir fry dinner in my dad's wok (which was equivalent to the size of a small swimming pool) we set off for bed in the tents, where I slept better than I would in any bed.
For the following days we kayaked, got into unbelievably close encounters with the orcas and porpoises and spent relaxing hours on the beach with our friends and family. Three days into our trip, our Austrian friends left camp while another group arrived. We were greeted by an older couple from Ireland, a young man from England, an older woman from Germany and the new guide, Lisa. It took us about ten minutes to connect and then we were already playing cards and talking. It struck my sister and I as funny that people tens of years older than us spent so much time with us and seemed really interested in what we had to say. We introduced the clients to a camp favourite, the game PIT. We play it every year when we’re there and it's always a great time. After that we played Blackjack using chocolate instead of money and a new one we were introduced to, Mafia. It was only the first night with these people and I was already having the time of my life. The next morning we set out for a kayak trip to a viewing point across the straight and to meet up with a person who quickly became one of my favourite people I had ever met, Ernest, who ran regulations for marine animals and human interaction. We took a hike up to Eagle view (again, the name was perfectly suited) where we had a talk about the whales and then hiked down to be greeted by very windy conditions. Despite everyone else's chipper attitude I was more than worried. I watched the waves crash to the beach as I tried to suggest waiting out the storm on the beach and reluctantly took my seat in the stern of the boat (yes, the stern as in I was responsible for the way I steered the boat, no pressure) I gulped as I looked at the guides worried expressions and tried to follow their instructions to make it back to shore alive (call me dramatic, but the waves were practically mini tsunamis, they came up to my shoulder) I tried to veer in an angle that would make the tall waves get me as dry as possible, which was impossible, we were practically swimming in the middle of the ocean. I could hear my uncle singing some song about sunshine and stole a glance at the sky, there was definitely not much sun to be seen. Despite my dad's reassuring words my eyes slightly teared up from fear, I was shaking with it and I could not wait for the moment we made it back to land safely, if only it didn't take an hour to get there. Although I had my doubts, we did make it back alive and let me tell you, dry clothes never felt so good. After hot showers, pajamas and dinner we joined in for more games and were greeted by the gentle blows of a pod of transient orcas, the best way to end the night.
Every year it’s hard to leave my favourite place on earth, and this time was no exception. I cried, just like I always do as I hugged my new friends and visited my favourite places on the beach one last time for the summer. The time I dreaded had come and it was time to load the boat for the way home. I reluctantly took my seat and watched and waved goodbye as the beach slowly went away from view. As hard as it is to leave, we always leave with the thought of returning the year after and making new memories with new people and discovering new and exciting things.
The trip I had been looking forward to since the day I left the year prior had finally arrived. We ditched our old tradition of leaving the house at an agonizingly ungodly hour in the morning and decided to leave before dinner in the evening. After loading our oversized luggage onto the greyhound my dad, sister and I seated ourselves in the oversized van and made our way to Merritt. Compared to our regular 12 hour trip to Port McNeill, the three hour drive to Merritt was nothing to us. The bad part was the kayak loading. We met the person who had the boats we needed at the hotel we would be staying at and he drove us about thirty minutes out of the town. There were three kayaks that needed loading onto our van and only after two hours had we successfully achieved that. We drove the half hour back to the hotel, where we met my mom and crashed, getting the few hours of sleep that we could before the long days ahead.
At four in the morning we trudged our way back into the van and drove all the way to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Despite my pleading I was denied my favourite part of the trip, the gelato from the factory in the terminal. I get that it was eight in the morning, but it’s never too early for italian ice cream, am I right? Our luck with whales began way earlier than expected, so early that we saw them on the ferry ride. I don’t know what it is about the animals but everytime I see them I feel the same excitement as I did the first time. After eating our breakfast (not gelato) on the ferry we loaded back into our car and headed off to Port McNeill. After another six hour drive we met up with a family from Austria and ate a seafood dinner together in the Northern Lights attached to the only hotel in Port McNeill, the Hideaway (yes, the name is perfectly suited) and went to bed, excited for tomorrow.
This morning was scheduled for whale watching. After breakfast we walked down to the dock and got onto the covered boat. We got to know our hilarious guide, Bill and reunited with a family friend from Germany, a professional photographer whose goal was to take new photos of our adventures on the island for the company's website. We saw four pods of residents and a humpback. We even witnessed a spy hop and a female came to arm's length next to our boat. We were already so lucky and it was only the first day. The part I was most looking forward to was coming up, we were heading to camp. We met up with our water taxi driver, James and his fiance and cruised away to camp. As soon as the bow of our boat passed the familiar cliff I had come to know so well our beach came into view. My eyes scanned the beautiful surroundings of lush green trees, the smell of cedar and salt water refreshed the air as I gazed over the people loading their supplies to where they would pack them onto the boat when it left us on the beach. My family knew what to do; we jumped down the steps onto the deck and started swinging luggage through a chain onto the beach. Once everything was off the boat, we started loading it with the other groups belongings and then it was time for me to climb across the outside and down the ladder. I gave a hug to the guides whom I have known forever as my feet hit the beach and immediately ran to see everything that had changed. I ran up the stairs to the kitchen shelter and then climbed the cliff that only my sister and I knew was the best viewing platform for the whales. After viewing my favourite highlights I joined my dad for the tour he was presenting to the people who had not been there before, where he showed us his pride and joy, the shower. Built with plenty of red cedar planks and running with hot water it was a complete luxury, better than any five star hotel, if I do say so myself. After a stir fry dinner in my dad's wok (which was equivalent to the size of a small swimming pool) we set off for bed in the tents, where I slept better than I would in any bed.
For the following days we kayaked, got into unbelievably close encounters with the orcas and porpoises and spent relaxing hours on the beach with our friends and family. Three days into our trip, our Austrian friends left camp while another group arrived. We were greeted by an older couple from Ireland, a young man from England, an older woman from Germany and the new guide, Lisa. It took us about ten minutes to connect and then we were already playing cards and talking. It struck my sister and I as funny that people tens of years older than us spent so much time with us and seemed really interested in what we had to say. We introduced the clients to a camp favourite, the game PIT. We play it every year when we’re there and it's always a great time. After that we played Blackjack using chocolate instead of money and a new one we were introduced to, Mafia. It was only the first night with these people and I was already having the time of my life. The next morning we set out for a kayak trip to a viewing point across the straight and to meet up with a person who quickly became one of my favourite people I had ever met, Ernest, who ran regulations for marine animals and human interaction. We took a hike up to Eagle view (again, the name was perfectly suited) where we had a talk about the whales and then hiked down to be greeted by very windy conditions. Despite everyone else's chipper attitude I was more than worried. I watched the waves crash to the beach as I tried to suggest waiting out the storm on the beach and reluctantly took my seat in the stern of the boat (yes, the stern as in I was responsible for the way I steered the boat, no pressure) I gulped as I looked at the guides worried expressions and tried to follow their instructions to make it back to shore alive (call me dramatic, but the waves were practically mini tsunamis, they came up to my shoulder) I tried to veer in an angle that would make the tall waves get me as dry as possible, which was impossible, we were practically swimming in the middle of the ocean. I could hear my uncle singing some song about sunshine and stole a glance at the sky, there was definitely not much sun to be seen. Despite my dad's reassuring words my eyes slightly teared up from fear, I was shaking with it and I could not wait for the moment we made it back to land safely, if only it didn't take an hour to get there. Although I had my doubts, we did make it back alive and let me tell you, dry clothes never felt so good. After hot showers, pajamas and dinner we joined in for more games and were greeted by the gentle blows of a pod of transient orcas, the best way to end the night.
Every year it’s hard to leave my favourite place on earth, and this time was no exception. I cried, just like I always do as I hugged my new friends and visited my favourite places on the beach one last time for the summer. The time I dreaded had come and it was time to load the boat for the way home. I reluctantly took my seat and watched and waved goodbye as the beach slowly went away from view. As hard as it is to leave, we always leave with the thought of returning the year after and making new memories with new people and discovering new and exciting things.
Writing stories is the reason why I love English. I don't think I would love the subject as much as I do if it weren't for stories. Stories are the exception of me not liking when you are told to write a certain subject. I would prefer to write about any given topic of my own choice, but that's not to say that you can't try writing something new and learn to love it. A good example of that is the Halloween story, it would not have been something that I usually would write, but I made some connections (being a twin) and created something that I didn't know I would enjoy doing as much as I did. I was proud of my ability to write something a bit suspenseful and scary. I love writing stories and getting creative and putting my own personal touches on things. I think I did just that.