7th Grade, 2nd Place
by Jontevia Marshall,
Putnam County Middle School
You never know what you’ll encounter when you’re lost. Just what would you do to get back home? Some things are not to be forgotten.
The Belson’s, a wealthy family from London decided it would be fun to go on a trip before fall rolled around. The youngest daughter, Mary, was jumping with joy as the group waited in line to check into the hotel. “Imagine all the fun things we’re going to do!” she said, practically jumping out of line to see all the things around her. While her siblings Opal and Michael weren’t watching, she decided to explore a little. She poked her head around the corner of a corridor she had come across and she saw an old man, hastily crawling around on the ground. He seemed to be looking for his identification cane, for he had no eyes. She rushed over to him and picked up the cane, helping him up. “Are you okay? Here, I grabbed your-” she was harshly interrupted as he grabbed her shoulders and said “Don’t press them. Bad things happen to kids who press the buttons.” He takes his cane, and walks away, mumbling something under his breath.
With her family trailing behind, Mary runs into one of the many elevators and slides her hands across the button panel, forgetting about the warning she was given. However, the doors closed with a jolt, leaving her all alone in the elevator. “Mom! Dad! Opal!” she screamed, banging her fists on the doors. She decided to press all the buttons again, thinking
they would open. Suddenly, the elevator jolted, stopping with a huge thud. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, and the doors slowly opened, revealing nothing but darkness. “Hello…?” Mary said, as she tiptoed her way out of the elevator. As her eyes adjusted, she began to look around. In the distance, Mary could hear maniacal laughter and large footsteps coming towards her. “Didn’t you hear the warning? Weren’t you told not to press my buttons?” a strange voice said suddenly behind her. Terrified, she ran back into the elevator and quickly ran her hands down the button panel. As the doors began to close, a large, clawed hand reached through the crack and grabbed her by her shirt collar. Soon after, she was teleported to a room with what seemed like hundreds of kids with no eyes chanting “Don’t press the buttons.” She thought she was hallucinating or having a nightmare. Scared, she tried rubbing her eyes, but found there was nothing there but the sockets they were supposed to be in. She remembered the old man she came across earlier that day and realized that she would not be free for a very, very long time.
Ever since that day, the unknown creature took Mary’s place as the Belson family’s loving sister and daughter, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.
Remember, bad things happen to kids who press the buttons.
