Kayla Chapman has been writing since the fifth grade. She is currently going to Full Sail University pursuing her Bachelor's of the Arts in Creative Writing. The Box The door bell rang, and Krystal moved to answer it from where she had been sitting on the couch, waiting for her boyfriend, Steve , to come over. She opened the door, confused when she didn’t see anyone. She looked around, confused, and then noticed a box on the sidewalk. She hadn’t been expecting any mail….she walked out of the house to retrieve it. It was light, it felt almost empty, and was taped shut with packing tape that begun to curl at the edges. The shipping label only had her name, no return address, and it looked like it had been haphazardly scribbled in red sharpie. She grabbed the edge of the tape and pulled it up as she set the box on the kitchen table.
She was confused when she found that the box was empty. She leaned forward to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, reaching her arm in. Her black cat Spooky darted between her legs, and she lost her balance and fell into the box. Moments later Steve arrived. After knocking for a while, he tried the knob and walked inside. “Krys?” he called. No answer. “Krystal!” “Steve!” he heard her as if she were some distance away. “Krys, where are you?” “In here!” “Where?” “The box on the table!” He was confused. The box on the table was small, there was no way she was inside. He decided she must be trying to surprise him, so he went along with it, walking over to the box. He laughed when he realized it was empty. “Krys?” He called again. “Down here!” Her voice sounded closer. He looked into the box again, then saw a small speck of light moving around. Her cell phone? This was unreal. “I fell in and I think I broke something! I need help getting out of here!” “What should I do?” “In my gym bag, there’s a jump rope! Let’s see if that’s long enough!” He quickly retrieved the jump rope. “Can you reach it?” “No... ouch! Yep something is broken.” “What else do you have that may be long enough?” “Do you have any rope?” Steve thought for a moment. He quickly ran out to his car, fumbling with his keys and popping his trunk. He dug around and found a yellow tow rope. He ran inside with it, securing it on a chair and lowering it into the box. “Is that long enough?” “Just a second….yeah, I got it!” Steve felt her weight on the rope and held it tight, trying to pull a little bit to help her up. It seemed like an eon when she finally came out of the box. He grabbed her and set her on the table, looking her over. “Are you hurt?” “I think I sprained my ankle.” She winced as she stood on it, quickly sitting back down. “Who sent you that thing?” “I don’t know. Throw it away!” “I have a better idea.” He tossed the box into fire place and started a fire. He sat next to her on the couch, propping her ankle up on a pillow, watching the box burn. Only it didn't. It just sat there, engulfed in flames, looking some kind of demon.
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