Scary Mary by Mary DeMichele


			by Mary DeMichele t twilight, the two girls disappeared screaming into the woods. "I'll get you my pretty," Stella cried, chasing Kate deeper into the forest. "No you won't," Kate shouted, looking back over her shoulder at her sister. She clutched the stuffed Scottie dog tighter as she leapt over fallen tree limbs. Rounding the bend of the trail Kate spied a path on her right that she had never noticed before. She veered off on this path, hid behind a tree and giggled when she saw Stella run by. "She's run right past us McTeague," Kate whispered to her little black dog. The crisp air through the orange and yellow leaves impelled Kate further down the path. Stella, realizing Kate was not ahead of her, stopped short. Back tracking up the path, she caught a glimpse of red off to her left through the screen of leaves. "Kate's sweater," she thought. She pushed through the undergrowth, making a beeline towards the red. Stella laughed as she approached her sister, "you won this time, you little..." but abruptly stopped when she realized Kate was looking at a large mound of stones in a clearing.