Anthology of Horror Stories

by Daphne Haydens

  " Our first dancer is Victor!" they yelled through the microphone.

  Victor came forward. He was insecure and shy. His moves were stiff, even worse than a damaged robotic. He tried to do several dance moves, but they all looked rusty. People snickered. They thought he was a horrible dancer. It was obvious. The judges held up their numbers. A 6, a 5, a 4, and a 2 out of 10. Horrible.

  Next was Dean. He tried hard, as he had such a big ego; nevertheless, the more he tried, the more outrageous he looked. The rolls of fat underneath his t-shirt were showing, and he was sweating like a pig. One time, he even fell over. When he was done, the judges rolled their eyes and gave him an even lower grade than Victor.

  Hakeem was the next candidate. I have to admit that he wasn't all bad. His athletic body helped him make several moves that nearly impressed some of the girls, and the judges gave him approximately 6.8. Okay.

  Ivo the building and construction worker just looked odd. He was making an effort to breakdance, but in the meantime, he hurt his back and had to leave the dancefloor a little earlier. Disqualified. Ha! My chances became larger.

  The last one before me was Jax. He did these odd little hops and tried moves that only look good when a girl does it, if you know what I mean. People were a little switched off by it and searched in disgust as the judges tried to think of what to say about it. His average was a 5.3. Not excellent, and that's an understatement.

  And then it was my turn. The music started. I enjoyed it. I went all crazy, with all the moves I had learned in the previous years. I shook my hips and threw my hair into the air. As I kept doing fancy, cool street moves, I discovered the crowd got into it. After a while, everybody was clapping and cheering me on. My shoulders, my waist ... everything swung to the music perfectly. It all came naturally. When I was done, I ducked and ended with a freeze ... with some mindset! The judges didn't have to think hard about this one. I got all nines and 10s.

  I walked towards the 5 men who had been buffooning me in the previous days and said, "You know what the said thing is, boys? I will not even ascribe my remarkable success to the fact that I am woman. Sure, no man can move their hips and shake their upper body or hair in the same way a girl does, but I need to admit that it was simply because I guess well ... practiced. It wasn't as I am woman. So perhaps you should consider that tonight when you try to develop your egos again."

  They didn't say anything back. I blew them a kiss and left the club with style. They gazed at me.

  " I need to admit she is kind of appealing when she is dancing," Victor said.

  " Oh, shut up," Dean said. "Let's get out of here."

  Chapter 7: Negotiating

  The next day, I showed up at work with a smile, but my smile quickly vanished when I heard an awful noise. I turned around the corner and saw some of my colleagues lined up against the glass of the next workplace room.

  " What are you all taking a look at?" I asked. "What's happening?"

  " The CEO's daughter," one of them said. "She went nuts. Look."

  The noise that tossed me off guard was the yelling of a 7-year-old girl who was tossing a tantrum in the workplace. Some things had been knocked off the desks, and she was stomping and clenching her fists, banging them on the office carpet.

  " She went berserk," Ivo said. "I do not understand, but her dad isn't here and we do not know how to deal with it."

  " I tried to give her candy," Hakeem said. "But she wouldn't even accept that. What kid doesn't want candy?"

  " I told her that her father would be very angry at her if he saw this," Dean said. "It didn't help."

  I chuckled. Of course, that didn't help. These guys didn't know what they were doing. 10 men were afraid of a little girl. That was a first. Ha-ha! Her temper tantrum was so wild and harmful that none of them had a clue of how to handle her.

  Punishments, bribery ... this girl just needed some empathy. I looked at my associates and asked, "Do you mind if I try?"

  They all looked at me and said, "By all means, if you think you can do better, proceed."

  When I opened up the door, my colleagues all backed off a little, fearing what appeared to be a horrible brat in the office room. They watched as I approached the little girl and asked what was wrong. When she saw me, she suddenly stopped screaming and banging her fists. This was my one chance.

  " Please tell me," I said in a soft voice. "I won't punish you for it. You can tell me anything. What can I do for you?"

  " I-I just ..." she started.

  " Yes, go on."

  " I just want my daddy. He said he would not leave me and now he discarded me into this boring workplace. He is always busy."

  " Oh, is it that?" I asked as I sat beside her on the floor and put my arm around her.

  She leaned against me and stopped sobbing.

  " There, there, just relax," I said. "It's fine. I understand that you want him back, and that he is taking way too long. Often I, too, think that he works too hard. Hey, I have an idea. How about you help me answer the phone and organize my desk? Then you can be my little assistant."

  She sobbed and thought of it. "Okay," she said quietly.

  " And you know what?" I continued. "We can have some fun. The office chairs have wheels; I can push you around on them, we can take a look at some of my family photos on the computer system, and you can use some of my printing paper to make a drawing. How does that sound?"

  " I think that could be fun," she admitted.

  " What's your name?" I asked.

  " Eveline," she said.

  " That's a beautiful name. My name is Jennie, but you can call me Jen."

  I saw a twinkle in her eyes. She got excited about playing around in my workplace, and I didn't even have to promise her a treat. All she needed, I figured, was a listening ear, a hug, and maybe even a solution, but none of those insensitive men at the window had thought about that.

  I got her hand and took her to my office. When I opened the door and let her walk through, I looked at Dean and a few of the others and protruded my tongue as if to say, "See? There are some things ladies can do better than men."

  I didn't say it, since I wasn't going to openly generalize like that, but I have to admit that I thought it. And I think they knew it too.

  Eveline played in my office room that day. It was a ton of fun. We had a fake tea party, tossed pieces of paper at each other, and did funny voices on the phone when consumers couldn't hear us when being postponed. When her father came back, he thanked me elaborately and gave me a monetary reward. It was just one of the best days at work I had had so far.

  Chapter 8: Saw That?

  The days after that went smoothly. Nobody bothered me anymore. They knew I possessed qualities that they didn't, and whether that was because I was woman, I didn't care. I showed them I was good at something. But about a week later, something took place that no one had expected.

  The siren went off. It was audible throughout the city. A voice was heard through some speakers in the streets. We all tuned in and listened to what it had to say.

  Ladies and gentlemen of the city. We have some awful news. Zombies have gotten in the properties. Remain in your houses and structures and hide. The authorities will do all in their power to get rid of the threat as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation.

  " Everybody hide below your desks!" my employer motivated his personnel.

  We did what we were told. I saw all my colleagues hide, but I knew where to find a weapon, just in case. Since it wasn't all safe, I was going to make certain nothing would happen to us. I knew of people who had died when hiding from the zombies. They always came all of a sudden, and then the crowd would just sweep through the city and try to kill whomever would be in their course. They never stayed for long, but they did a lot of damage whenever they showed up.

  But I was ready, as I had a MASSIVE SWORD in my hands !!!

  Who would have a sword in their office, you ask? Well, I did, since these were some of my other hidden
talents: Sword battling and fencing. I had a daddy who was in the army. He had taught me to shoot guns and use swords.

  It was quiet, and it remained silent for a long time. We heard some sounds from the city, but those were all outside the walls of our office building.

  The zombies were in the city, and they were roaming the empty streets. Typically, they wouldn't enter a lot of homes and structures, but it wasn't impossible for them to do so. And it didn't take long before they just happened to burglarize our building.

  Craaack! Clash! Cling! Clang!

  They busted through the glass of our lobby and started to try to find possible victims.

  The CEO of our company got up and shouted, "Change of strategies! Everyone get to their weapons! Now!"

  As fast as they could, the staff members in the building ran towards the weapon racks and armed themselves with machine guns and shotguns. The zombies came closer. The workers were lined up, all set to follow their company's orders.

  " Ready?" he said. "Fire!”

  Boom! Boom! Takadakadak!

  The guns were firing numerous bullets at the zombies. Some of the zombies fell and got up again. Others just jerked a little at the effect of the bullets but kept walking forward.

  " Keep firing!" the CEO screamed.

  It was useless. The zombies were unsusceptible to bullets. It didn't do anything to them. And although it was holding them back, the workers were just stalling by shooting them and postponing their own deaths.

  But then I ran downstairs and leapt behind the staff members.

  " Cease fire!" I screamed.

  They all looked at me for a second. "|Don't you see? You can't kill them this way," I said.

  " But what are we going to do then?" my employer asked.

  " Haven't you heard?" I asked. "There is only one way to kill zombies: by chopping off their heads."

  I didn't want to lose any more words on explaining myself. I was a little shocked they even tried to use weapons against these zombies. I had always learned that you could only use swords, axes, pickaxes, or other sharp things against them. And I was right. My dad had taught me well.

  I dashed forward and swung my sword into the direction of one of the zombies.

  Tsyaaack!

  I sliced his head off in one move. I didn't look back to see my associates' responses; I just kept slashing the zombies with my incredible blade. Head after head fell on the floor of our lobby. It was a massacre.

  My coworkers withdrawed a little and let me do my thing. They couldn't really believe somebody like me was capable of such actions and skills. So far, they always looked down on me, thinking that I was this shy, weak person. Imagine what was going through their heads now! A few dozen men grouped together, watching woman kill countless zombies in front of them by slicing their heads off.

  It was priceless!

  When I was done and there were no more zombies in our location, I leaned on my sword, a little worn out but pretending to be just fine. I smirked and saw their faces glowing with awe. They were speechless.

  I stopped leaning on my sword and picked it up. With the blood dripping from the end of the blade, I put it on my shoulder and walked past them.

  " Excuse me, boys," I said. "I still have some paperwork to do."

  I do not think I need to tell you that I got a raise that really same day, and that all the men at the office complex were more considerate towards me after that extraordinary display of guts and battling skills.

  I don't think I have to tell you that males and females have different abilities, but that the possibilities are nearly endless, and that you never need to worry about someone else being a sexist about it.

  And I do not think I need to tell you that I was asked on dates every weekend after that, either by guys working at the business or by other guys who became aware of me. It was a ton of fun being so popular.

  And last but not least: I do not think I have to tell you that you just have to really believe in yourself, that you don't have to be the best at every little thing, but that you should find what you have a natural talent for and continue to make that grow.

  That's what I did.

  THE END

  The Apocalypse in School

  Chapter 1: To Kill or Not to Kill

  " This is it. We can't hold them back a lot longer," Jane said. "Just keep shooting them!" Dexter yelled in despair. "There HAS to be a way out."

  Dexter and Jane were driven into a corner. The hordes of zombies were running towards them, drooling and bleeding along the way, making gruesome noises and frightening motions. Dexter had a machine gun, an easy but reliable AK-47, and Jane had a big shotgun. Both of them were firing away at the approaching creatures, reloading and shouting for nerve. Dexter was wearing his hat backwards, and Jane had a small bag on her back.

  " Well, where is it then? I don't see a way out! Do you?" Jane screamed. Dexter took a look around for a minute. "There!" he said. "The vent!" With that being said, Dexter and Jane turned around and jumped into the vent, crawling through the spooky space that could give any person a claustrophobic cardiac arrest.

  " Go! Go! Go!" Dexter yelled as he watched Jane go first. Although he didn't want to be an annoyance, he wanted she would crawl a little faster.

  They were stuck in a high school. After the illness practically took over Fang City, they ran away to the grocery store, robbed whatever they could, and established camp in the high school classrooms, thinking that they were safe. And they were ... for a while ... till they were discovered.

  " This teaches us to be more mindful when we head out next time," Dexter said.

  " Hey, simply because there happened to be a zombie in the ladies' restroom, doesn't mean this is all my fault, alright!" Jane said in aggravation.

  " I am not saying that. I am just expressing my worry about the next hiding place we find. We need to become more secluded, and suffer the end of this episode of terror. The zombies are all over, and we can't afford to take any risks," Dexter added.

  " Well, what do you suggest?" Jane asked.

  " A bank. Find supplies and hide in the bank vault. For now, until we find something better."

  " Sounds good, but let's get out of here first. I think I already killed about 20 in a few minutes, but they keep coming," said Jane.

  " Let's take the fire escape and after that just follow me. I know the quickest way to arrive," Dexter clarified.

  " Yep!”

  Jane left the building as fast as she could, followed by Dexter. They blocked the exit and ran off through the alleys.

  " Did we lose them?" Jane asked, panting and attempting to catch her breath.

  " I think so. Let's keep running till we are actually there," Dexter answered.

  " Easy for you to say. You were a basketball player. I was part of the chess club," Jane said.

  " Ha-ha! I thought chess was a sport! That's what you told me!”

  " Yes, but ... Ughh ... I am tired. Can we pause for several seconds?"

  " Okay," Dexter replied. "But no more. We need to get to a safe location."

  After a fast pause, Dexter and Jane ran into the closest bank. They quietly opened up the door and held their guns in front of them, making certain the environment was safe. They slowly moved towards the vault.

  Locked.

  " Right, genius. How do we open it?" Jane asked.

  " The code has to be around here somewhere. I mean, everyone is gone. Aha! This must be it. Let's try it."

  Dexter tried to open the vault, but it would not budge. There was no way of opening it. He tugged and pulled with all his might and started kicking it in frustration.

  " Hey, relax," Jane said. "That's not going to help. Let's go to plan B."

  " What is that plan B?" Dexter asked. "We can find an air-raid shelter. Some of these homes have one. They were built during the Cold War, so they MUST have SOMETHING."

  Dexter concurred and they left the bank. They saw some money lying on the floor, but cash was no goo
d here. There went that idea ...

  " Look out!" Jane shouted.

  Dexter turned around and shot a zombie in the chest. Takadakadak! His machine gun fired several rounds, all accurate hits.

  " Thanks. Now let's get moving."

  Dexter and Jane came to the old part of town. They knew there may be a higher danger of encounters with zombies, but Jane's idea about the bomb shelter actually wasn't bad.

  After searching through some houses, they found one with a basement. It was great, as it had a food storage, comfortable sofas, a bed, and enough space to move.

  " Aaahh ..." Jane said in satisfaction as she fell on the bed. "This is what I am talking about."

  Finally they were safe, or so they thought ...

  Chapter 2: Let's Get Out Already

  Dexter and Jane remained in the air-raid shelter for 5 days. They opened cans of food, ate the leftovers, and read some of the books that were on the shelves. The only thing that nearly ended up being a problem, was that there was only one bed. Plainly this shelter was made for couples, but Dexter and Jane were not even in a relationship.

  Dexter was 21. He had been a sports fanatic, always attempting to be the best at everything. His entire life, he had spent countless hours practicing basketball shots, trying to slam-dunk the ball, and playing non-stop with his friends.

  Jane was 19. She secretly had a crush on Dexter, but he was too oblivious to see. Jane always looked up to him, although there was no need to. Jane was exceptionally intelligent. She had won chess competitions, built her own websites, and learned how to earn money online. She normally had high grades in school and studied world history and geography. If there was any area in the world you would bring up, she could tell you something about it.

  But now they were stuck together, something that Jane didn't mind. Dexter, however, was focused on survival and didn't even want to get close. Yes, Jane was appealing, but his mind was on other things. Besides, she was his best friend. It would be so weird to take it any farther, right? That's what he thought at least.