Young Writers Society

Fascinating, Judias thought.

The girl named Alli shifted uneasily, but her subtle smile was welcoming. She had a short, boyish haircut, a thin face, thin lips, thin arms - everything about her very thin. Her skin was naturally caramelized, yet it had a vagueness to it; it was the pallid flush of sickness, of sunless days and nights, of unsurety and gossamer bed sheets. Her sallowed complexion was expected of someone who had just emerged out of a deadly disease.

He smiled a bit and then tried not to swallow. Humor always played as a bleak reminder.

But, her eyes. They were as dark as the cool early morning sky, before the dew came and the branches began to stretch their leaves, long after the frogs had gone to rest and the birds had caught their last meal, in that hour where everything was so still. He was enthralled by them. How dark were there depths, he wondered? How long had it taken? What do they see, what do they cause? She seemed normal! Is it really possible to daresay normal?

He realized he was staring. He flushed then he coughed.

"The camp has its own appeal, doesn't it?" He looked towards the buildings, the bungalows swaying in the trees, the scamper of wildlife.

She gazed around with with a slightly dazed half-smile, drinking everything in hungrily. "It's..." Words seemed to fail her, and she gestured around the clearing with a small sweep of her hand. She lingered on the trees for a second more than natural before clenching her hand in a pocket and returning her gaze to him.

"How does it work here? It's been so long..." Her eyes darted to Salem as if for support, and then back to him as she trailed off.

He glanced at her, then gazed back upon the clutter of buildings. "Well... Some of us get supplies, some of us rescue, and some of us, you know, work for the doctor, Ben. We all work, so it all just... sort of works."

"Ben..." Affection and respect lingered in her voice. She stared at her feet a few moments. "Ah!" A few paces away, Devon straightened, his eyes snapping to her. Judias noticed Salem's attention flicker to the girl at the exclamation, then back to the people she was talking to. The girl fluttered for a second, before hurrying over to Devon. Their low voices didn't carry over to him, but Devon's posture relaxed.

"Sorry." the girl said as she made her way back to him. "I had to tell him something. So how long have you been here?"

"Almost four years, I think," he said. "What about you?"

She jostled slightly, a frown creasing her forehead. "3 years... probably." In her pocket, something rustled as she clenched her hand. Silence instilled itself between them, settling uncomfortably around her shoulders.

Judias vigorously chastised himself, and mentally grasped for something to say. Words were never his strongest suit. They often flew and danced above his head before darting away and hiding, and he would scour for them exasperatingly, before the moment had passed and he would return empty-handed and embarrassed. As Alli shifted, her pocket rustled again, and Jude snatched upon it happily and with relief.

"What's that in your pocket?" He asked.

Her lips tightened infinitesimally as she hesitated. Her body tightened slightly. After a moment, she drew out a worn picture and let him glance at it. He caught a glimpse of a smile, long dark hair, and similar features to Alli's before the picture disappeared into her pocket again. She worried at her lower lip.

"Ah, is that your sister?" His voice was more cheery, and he didn't notice when Alli jerked. "I can see some resemblance. I have a sister, too, you know. I haven't seen her in... forever."

His brow furrowed, then a dreamy look grasped his features. "I remember that she used to throw fits when I wouldn't read to her, or carry her to bed, or play with her, when our parents permitted it. She had the cutest pouting face... has. Had. Has. I don't know. I'm going to see her one day, hopefully. Then I'll know what her pouting face is still like."

He appeared as if he was about to chuckle, but then stopped. The girl' eyes seemed hollow as she stared at him, stock rigid, her hands clenched at her side. She seemed like a volcano on the verge of eruption. He was suddenly able to pick out the bruises and cuts on her arms. Alli pressed down on one of the bruises hard enough to make him wince. Her eyes scrunched shut.

"Devon." She forced the name out through clenched teeth. The trainer saw the girl's state and strode next to her.

"Alli, breathe. Take it slow. Breathe." Devon waved Judias away. His words seemed to have the opposite effect desired. Alli elbowed him in the stomach before doubling over herself, clutching at her knees.

A hair raising scream ripped itself from her throat as she fell to her knees, clawing at the ground desperately. Judias saw Salem's eyes widen. Devon moved to grab the girl, but she smacked his hands away roughly, turning on him. They wrestled for a few seconds until he had her almost pinned. Salem hurried over, placing a knee in the crook of each of the girl's elbows so she couldn't thrash. She popped the covering on a plastic container, then jabbed the needle into the girl's neck. After a few tense moments, the girl relaxed and Devon clambered off of her. Salem stayed next to her, whispering into her ear until the girl passed out.

"What," Salem finally said, "did you say to her?"

Judias stood still, then his mouth opened and closed. He ran his hand over his face, then through his hair, then over his face again. His fingers bore into his cheeks and over his mouth, and then he slowly sank onto the back of his heels. Judias' brow were notched heavily, casting his devastated eyes in shadow. He hunched over himself and buried his face in his hands.

"I... "

"Jude, what did you say?"

"She showed me the photograph. I-I asked if it was her sister." His voice cracked. He did not hear Salem's furious reply. Judias could feel it churning again, the pain, the anguish, the thing that clawed and bit and snarled and he could also feel it that taunted all of his woes and that snaked misery around his throat and that whispered murder in his ear in the form of white noise. He had plunged into the lost, and a trembling pale hand that was no longer his reached for his pocket. It pulled out a small blank bottle and struggled to shake its contents into the other hand, that had also become not his. For a moment, panic seized him. Then two white pills fell into his hand, and he threw them into the back of his throat.

He shuddered, and then his hands were his again. He jerked back to his feet when he finally noticed that Salem and Devon had walked off, carrying the girl tentatively. His top half moved to run to them, but his feet resisted. Finally, his arm fell back to his side. His expression was still twisted in grief. Then, he turned, and steered towards his house. Then, he began to sprint.

Normal, he thought. This, that, will be normal. For me. For everyone.



Once, there was darkness.

Then hunger.

Then desperation.

She didn't know what came after that.

But now, she knows, that there is blackness.

Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned. I, against You, the Great Almighty, have thwarted your Creation, defiled your Holy Scripture, and have betrayed Your Essence. Forgive me, Lord, for I beg for mercy. Please, Great Creator, purge this abomination that is me...