Happy Friday, Arrowheads! I’m pleased to announce that today was my last day of college… EVER! 😀 And on this most special of occasions, I’d like to share with you a Flash Fiction piece that is loosely based on my childhood memories. Without further ado, here’s “Scary Stories”!

Scary Stories

 

“And then all the teachers get eaten by some man-eating underwear!” My best friend Ryanne giggled from her Blue’s Clues sleeping bag next to me. As usual, I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh and joined along with her. This, of course, was the ending to our favorite scary story–The Man-Eating Underwear– a Ryanne original in which the mean teachers at Grahamwood Elementary School were eaten by a pair of talking tighty-whities.

“Now it’s your turn, Emery,” Ryanne said a bit too loudly as she handed me the flashlight, providing me with the storytelling spotlight.

“Shh! Ry, remember we have to whisper, or Mommy will tell us to be quiet again!” I remind her. In the dimly lit living room, I could see Ryanne pretend to zip her lips closed. “Now,” I began, shining the light over my face, “once upon a time there was–“

A shriek split the night, sending chills down my spine. I dropped the flashlight, causing it to turn off with a loud clunk. I curled up in my Winnie the Pooh sleeping bag, fearing for my life.

“Em, what was that?” Ryanne whispered, her teeth chattering.

“The…the man-eating underwear…” I stammered, barely audible. “What if it’s real?”

“Come on, I made that up–“

A second shriek sounded, my eyes growing wide. “Shh…, just lay really still and maybe it won’t get us!” I begged. This time, Ryanne didn’t object.

Either lying completely motionless or our fears of being murdered lulled us into a deep sleep within the hour. The next morning, we were awakened by the smell of bacon drifting in from the kitchen. With the hems of our nightgowns dragging across the carpet, we shuffled down the hall and into the kitchen, hopping onto the bar stools. Momma stood at the griddle frying bacon.

“Mommy, did you hear that noise last night?” I asked, thankful the monster seemed to overlook her, too.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, stirring the eggs.

“We heard a scream last night,” Ryanne added, swinging her legs against the rungs on the stool. “We thought something was going to hurt us!”

“A scream?” Momma questioned, bewildered, before a look of recognition crossed her face. “Oh! It was probably me. I had a nightmare that a huge lizard man had me trapped in a corner. He was just about to attack me, when I grabbed a bottle of Febreeze. I sprayed the entire bottle on him, and he shriveled up and died!” she finished with a laugh.

Ryanne and I exchanged a sidelong glance, nowhere near amused. Ryanne, in fact, never told the tale of The Man-Eating Underwear ever again. We never saw the underwear or the lizard man, but those scary stories forever haunt us to this day.

© Copyright Allyson Kennedy, 2017. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to check back next week, where I might be able to post more now that I’m done with school! 🙂

-Allyson 😀