My friend Alicia started this story at 3:37pm the other day. I wrapped it up at 4:17. It was a lot of fun. I thought it wasn’t too shabby so I decided to post it. The chat format makes it look like a narrative poem. Enjoy.

   once upon a time
there were a group of girls that were friends
   one day
   they decided to take a trip to a distant land
   they started out late one night
   in the rain
there was a chill in the air despite it being summertime
   the wind breathed of something on their heels
   something scary
   but they pressed on
and laughed in the face of the black unknown
   mile after mile they went
   determined to see the distant land
   until
   one day
   they arrived
they all broke out into song and dance at such a wonderous discovery
   one might have even cried
   at the one who had been lost along the way
   well
   as they were traveling
   the scary thing caught up with the one who was struggling
the Scary thing tangled up her legs and made her fall
   it slithered up the fallen girl and slipped into the crevice of her soul
she got up and walked on so the others didn’t know the danger she was in
   the danger they were all in
   so they arrived in a distant land
and they rejoiced at what was there
   but the one girl
   the one who the Scary thing invaded
   she stood aloof from the others
   while they sang and danced
   she backed away
   onto the road they’d taken
   and left the others there
   the others soon noticed
   their friend had disappeared
so they decided to set up camp
   and search for her
   they combed the perimeter
   and found all manner of berries
   and wild corn
and game, which they made note to hunt later
   but this group
   could not find their friend
   they searched into the late night
   and into the morning twilight
when suddenly
   from the trail that led to this distant land
   appeared a young lady
she introduced herself
   and asked if she could be their friend
   the others discussed it
and decided it wouldn’t hurt
   so they welcomed the new girl into their group
   this new girl, however
   had an essence about her
   and the others could tell
   that something wasn’t quite right
but they continued to befriend her
   they played together
   they sang
   she happened to know a lot of the songs they knew
   they danced and ate and lived many days in harmony
until one day
   one of the original group went missing
   and the new girl was the first to let everyone know
and she didn’t know if she went wandering off and got lost
   or something worse
   something much worse
   so the group split up
combed the perimeter of their little colony
   along their gardens
   up in the watchtower
   they couldn’t find her
   after a few hours
   they did come upon a pile of bones
bones that glistened
   still looked moist
as if whatever devoured the once whole being had just finished
   the group assumed
   this was their friend
   and gathered her bones
   and performed a proper burial
   the new girl
as a long plume of smoke ascended into the sky
   shed a single tear
   for this friend
   that she had stumbled upon so many days ago
the group mourned an appropriate season
   then began harvesting their crops
when one of the girls saw a dog sitting at the edge of the garden
   this dog
   had the eyes of the Scary thing
   but no one else recognized them
   no one else
   but the new girl
   she saw the dog
   and she turned around
   terrified
wondering if he smelled her
   she glanced over her shoulder
   and saw the dog’s eyes
   and the dog’s eyes saw her
   the new girl
approached the group
   she told them
   she knows what happened to their old friend
   the one they just buried
   and the one before, from weeks ago
and the new girl proposed an idea
   that the others wouldn’t even think of accepting
   because this girl was their friend
   but this girl knew things
   things that were dangerous for the group
   and had wanted to protect the group
but failed
   twice
   possibly three times
   because the dog was there now
   the dog was there
   this new girl
   she took the dog
   by the scruff
   and led him to the trailhead
and she took his paws
   in her hands
   and she muttered something
indecipherable
   over and over and over again
   until slowly
   this dog
   transformed
writhing
   howling
   that turned to groans
   and what was left
   was their old friend
   the Scary thing was gone
   but the new girl
was no longer
   the group brought their old friend back to health
   fed her
   gave her clothes
   and decided it was time to settle elsewhere
they packed their things
   and shrouded the new girl
   and carried her body to the river
and built a raft and set her body on it
   and set her downstream
   while the others
headed upstream
   ready to start over
   again