While baby-sitting the new neighbors’ kids for the first time, Katie answered the phone. “Hello?” she said a familiar voice. “This is your mother!” Oh hi mom, Katie answered. “How are you doing Katie?” her mom asked. “Pretty good” she answered. “I just wanted to call and make sure you were doing all right, and I won’t be off work for another hour. Got to go, bye.” Then she was off the phone. Katie then put the receiver back on the phone. A half an hour ago the kids had gone to sleep and Katie was starting to feel a little tired herself. Then a thought sprung into her head, she had forgotten to lock the door to the doghouse. Getting out of the comfortable chair that Katie was in, she went outside to lock up the doghouse. Instantly the cold winter air hit Katie and she had to go back inside to get all warm. I will have to make a mad dash to the doghouse, Katie said to none in particular. When she finally thought that she was ready, Katie ran as fast as she could and got to the doghouse in a matter of minutes.

Finally Katie got the doghouse locked up and chained. Then Katie felt as if she was being watched. She looked behind her yet noone was there. Then she heard the door to the house being opened. Someone was breaking into the house! Katie ran back to the house and while she was running she tripped over something big and fell to the ground with a loud thump. For a while, Katie remained on the ground unconscious. And then when she woke up she looked around and she found herself back inside the house. Who could of brought her back inside the house? Why did that person save her when the person could have left her for dead? Question after question formed inside Katie’s head. Then Katie had an idea. She went upstairs to check on all the kids to make sure they were asleep. All the kids were nice and warm in their beds. Except 9-year-old James. He wasn’t even in bed at all. That’s weird, Katie thought. She then went back downstairs to see if he was anywhere down there.

When James was not down there Katie heard a noise, not a loud noise but yet a noise that was still there. Then Katie heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from the garage. Katie went to the door that led to the garage and stuck her ear to the door. Then there was the noise and it was even louder. “It must be coming from the garage!” Katie shouted. But when she opened the door she didn’t see James, she didn’t see anyone at all but what she did see was worse then anything she could have seen. She saw a message on the mirror on the garage. It said, “Get out of the house before you die!” Then Katie was really scared. So she did as the message said. She ran out of the house not caring about the rest of the kids, just fearing for her life. When Katie got back to her house she found everything working and then she called her parents. Her parent told her to go back to her house and bring the kids to their house to baby-sit them.

Katie left that night and never came back. Noone has found her body nor anything that belonged to Katie. The only thing we know is that the kids were never woken up and Katie has never been found.

— Wally Rachford is a Tonganoxie Junior High School student.