Young Writers Society

Dammit, when will people learn that the world doesn't belong to them?

Sarah got more and more frustrated with each passing second as she tried not to fall off her bicycle from how slow she was cycling. She'd had a bad day at school today, with her getting to class late because of heavy traffic, getting punished by the teacher for forgetting to bring an assignment, and then getting her clothes ruined by some kid tripping over absolutely nothing and spilling his drink all over her. All she'd wanted to do when she got home was to get rid of her dirty clothes and go cycling to relax. 

But noooo, this group of people had just decided that this park was THEIR turf now, and then proceeded to block off the entire track by walking in a row instead of keeping to the side, so she couldn't even overtake them. Sarah was too tired for this. 

After what felt like hours, she finally reached the middle of the park, where a small tunnel connected one side of the park to the other. Screw it, she thought, I'm going through that tunnel. Not going to put up with these selfish pricks anymore. 

Sarah started going through the tunnel. Looking around, she noted that there were various flowers and creeping plants on the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. "That's nice," she murmured to herself. "Adds a bit of color to this place." She continued onwards. 

Strange, Sarah mused. This tunnel didn't look this long when I first saw it. It had been almost a full minute, and she seemed to have only made it halfway through what used to be a short tunnel. The plants that decorated the inside of the tunnel when she first went in were getting more and more scarce the further she got. Also, was it just her, or was it getting darker...?

Sigh. Sarah was getting tired. She wanted to go home. Luckily, her street was just at the other end of the tunnel. It looked like she would have to keep going for quite a while though; she had been cycling for so long, yet she could barely see the end of the tunnel...

Wait.

She could barely see the end of the tunnel. 

Something was very wrong. 

Bewildered, Sarah shook herself from whatever trance she had been in, and took a look at her surroundings. It was completely dark, and from what little she could see, there were no more plants on the walls. Just nothing but concrete...maybe concrete. 

The end of what she thought to be a small, short tunnel was now what seemed to be more than several hundred meters away, with the sunlight just a tiny spot of white in the abyss of darkness that was the tunnel. Sarah frantically tried to go faster, rotating the pedals as fast as she could, but instead of getting closer, the light was getting further and further away, until it was just a speck, a pinprick...

The light wasn't visible anymore. 

Panicking, Sarah turned her head this way and that, trying to find a sense of direction, but everywhere she turned, it was just that same all-encompassing black. She belatedly noticed that her body had froze, and tried to move, but some kind of force was keeping her from even twitching, a vice-like hold on her body. She tried to scream for help, but her jaw wouldn't move, she can't MOVE-

Wide, panicked eyes came into contact with a small figure moving towards her. It looked like a young boy, not much older than her. Then it spoke.

"Another sacrifice for the Void..."

"Wh-wha-" She could speak again! "What do you mean?" she stammered. "Where even is this? What's happening? Let me g-" Suddenly, the unknown force gripped her again, rendering her completely immobile, silent and helpless against...whatever this was. 

"...another sacrifice for the Void..."

What are you talking about? 

Sarah tried to break free again, but to no avail. The only thing she could move were her eyes and eyelids, and she shut her eyes, desperately praying that it was all just a bad dream, that when she opened her eyes she would find herself in bed, staring up at the ceiling...

Nope. She opened her eyes, and the boy(?) was still in front of her, staring holes into her face. They stay like that, completely still for a few minutes, then slowly, the boy...creature...thing raises a tiny, bony hand and places it on her cheek, and she's gone. 

Sarah never made it home.

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Tammy is terrified. She'd just wanted to take a little shortcut through that tunnel, but now she's in this scary dark place, she can't see a thing, and she can't move-

Suddenly, she sees a person (or she thinks it's a person) walking towards her. Its long hair flowed behind it as it gets closer, and soon Tammy can see its face. It looks like a teenage girl with fairly pretty features, but it looks awfully familiar...

Where have I seen this face before?

It dawns on Tammy a few moments later. She's seen this very face on a missing person poster, but more vibrant and lively than the pale shell it was now. The missing person poster was put up about two weeks ago, saying the girl was last seen going cycling at a park. The very same park that Tammy was in before she entered the tunnel...

"Sarah West?"

Dimly, Tammy notes that she can move again, and her voice shakes when she utters the name. The figure in front of her doesn't react to the name, and she swallows. Then 'Sarah' opens her mouth.

"...another sacrifice...for the Void..."