The Ten Year Old Terrors of Tennessee
Ten Year Old Terrors
It all started on the 15th night of the 10th month at four minutes to midnight. Thunder boomed across the valley and lightning whipped and cracked across the moonlit sky. It was raining heavily now. But Melanie was not afraid of what games Mother Nature was playing, she had her own troubles to worry about. For in fifteen days, she would be going through the most life changing experience ever: her tenth birthday. “The big one – oh”, as her sister called it. Melanie’s sister had already turned ten, and eleven and twelve. In fact, Melanie’s sister Marianne was already sixteen. She had long black hair and chocolate brown eyes that looked like Dairy Milk buttons. Melanie on the other hand had icy blue eyes that her auntie Edith said looked like two ice cubes stuck to her face. Auntie Edith was a little crazy sometimes.
At two minutes to midnight, Melanie finally had started to drift off to sleep… She began to dream of giant cupcakes with pink frosting and balloons with purple ribbon tied around them and streamers and party poppers and ice cream and… CRASHHHH! Suddenly she could hear the sound of a hundred horses’ hooves sprinting across a giant metal bridge. She woke with a fright and ran to her window to see what was outside making such a racket, but to her dismay it was not a hundred horses. Nor was it anything that she could see. Melanie stared out of her window for what felt like forever. She was about to turn round and slump back into bed but then she heard it. Or… She thought she heard something. She looked down from her window and into her back garden. It was dark. Very dark. In fact it was so dark that when Melanie leaned further out of the window, she could barely make out the outline of the house next door. Then she heard it again. That noise. It was like a low whimpering, like something was in trouble. Melanie had to do something. She rummaged through her bed side table and grabbed her flashlight. She shoved her feet into her slippers and slowly began to creep down the stairs…
She got to the back door without making a sound. The key was the hard part. Melanie slowly turned it, trying not to make it creek and squeak. Slowly… Easy does it… *click* Success! She grabbed the handle and ran outside into the back garden. And then she saw it…
At two minutes to midnight, Melanie finally had started to drift off to sleep… She began to dream of giant cupcakes with pink frosting and balloons with purple ribbon tied around them and streamers and party poppers and ice cream and… CRASHHHH! Suddenly she could hear the sound of a hundred horses’ hooves sprinting across a giant metal bridge. She woke with a fright and ran to her window to see what was outside making such a racket, but to her dismay it was not a hundred horses. Nor was it anything that she could see. Melanie stared out of her window for what felt like forever. She was about to turn round and slump back into bed but then she heard it. Or… She thought she heard something. She looked down from her window and into her back garden. It was dark. Very dark. In fact it was so dark that when Melanie leaned further out of the window, she could barely make out the outline of the house next door. Then she heard it again. That noise. It was like a low whimpering, like something was in trouble. Melanie had to do something. She rummaged through her bed side table and grabbed her flashlight. She shoved her feet into her slippers and slowly began to creep down the stairs…
She got to the back door without making a sound. The key was the hard part. Melanie slowly turned it, trying not to make it creek and squeak. Slowly… Easy does it… *click* Success! She grabbed the handle and ran outside into the back garden. And then she saw it…