Congratulations to Kaydence Lang, winner of the Teen-ish Fall Writing Contest for their story “Dead Souls,” a tale full of chills and atmospheric dread. Thanks to the Teen Writing Contest team, led by Keyla Luna, of the Teen Advisory Board for their work in imagining, publicizing, and judging this contest.

May we present, if you dare, “Dead Souls,” by Kaydence Lang.

Dead Souls

By Kaydence Lang

It was a dark night. The lonely souls walked on the moonlit path. Their haunting song of loss carried out over the field. The terrified farmer took refuge in the red abandoned barn. The fearful scream of the farmer’s wife reached his ears as he stood in terror, too much of a coward to see what was happening. Then the world went silent. The floorboards beneath his feet creaked as he reached for the pitchfork leaning against the rotted wood wall. His breathing hitched. He used the toe of his boot to nudge open the door and ever so cautiously stepped onto the dying grass outside. The sky grew cloudy, blocking the moonlight. A rabid, vicious howl came from the nearby wood. The farmer stepped back, repressing the urge to take cover.

“Papa!” shrieked a little girl. “Help, they got me!”

He broke into a run. Headed toward the all too familiar voice of his daughter. Running through the long dead grass, memories of distant happier times popped up in the forefront of his mind. The colors started to blur, mixing present with past. The shrieking got louder and louder. He knew his daughter was near. A sudden thought struck him, his daughter was dead… Wasn’t she? His daughter died three years ago. Out of nowhere a small shadow figure popped up in front of him with eyes gouged, blood dripping from the sockets. The horror shone on the farmer’s face as he was struck with a realization it was his dead daughter. His face turned as white as a ghost. He took three steps back, then “thump.” He stood there in shock. The farmer slowly turned around and there was his wife and all one thousand of his dead relatives: his aunts, his uncles, grandparents, cousins, and pets. None of them had eyes and red liquid poured out. His breath started to get heavy, then his body started to give up. The farmer looked up at his dead daughter.

“Why?” his shaky, wispy voice cried out.

“Because You Did This To Us!” they all cried out. The farmer took his last breath. He darted up from his bed in horror. He walked outside to go to the barn and heard the same shrieking from his ‘Dream.’