The Book Launch Anthology 2023

Evelyn hesitated before entering the dim room. The interior varnished with what used to be white walls, now patches of peeling paint and long scratches sprinting from one end of the room to the other. Symmetrical rows of beds lined the space, each one occupied by a lunatic gripping the covers, bleeding, cackling, shrieking, whatever they were doing – it proved just the level at which they were so intensely insane. A single window hovered on the wall at the end of the room, filtering in only the barest ration of light to the patients; however, it was all Evelyn needed to pass through the aisle and distribute the meals. Evelyn found her job abhorrent. It was something she dreaded each time she awoke, the cause for all the nightmares that haunted her dreary eyes, awake or asleep. The feeling of teeth on her leg woke her up from her daydream, and she noticed a grin resting on Edward’s face, his teeth edging away from her bare legs. Evelyn gasped and shrugged away, after passing Edward his bland porridge, colourless and sloppy. As she continued down the narrow path of beds, clumps of unkempt hair were thrown at her, spit or worse. Evelyn subsequently reached the finish of the room, finding Kathryn staring through her. Evelyn waved a hand to knock Kathryn out of her dream, her pale face reflecting no recognition of the hand brushing her lashes. “Shadow... shadow Man. Oh why do it cast some shadows upon Kathryn?” The words tumbled out of Kathryn’s mouth like a downpour of rain, each word stumbling on the other.&nbsp;

Evelyn held a puzzled look on her face as she passed yet another portion of slop to Kathryn, worried about her... Although she was the most mental patient in the hospital. “What do you mean – The Shadow Man?” Evelyn stuttered, confused. Kathryn’s pupils swam about the sea of her eyes, searching for something to focus on.&nbsp; “The Man… he saw my dreams... he scared from me… he… HE...” Kathryn started breathing rapidly,&nbsp;brought her fingers to her throat, mimicking a slice across her neck. Evelyn’s heart beat faster, beating her to remember Sally. Sally had been a patient long ago at Barming Asylum. Like Kathryn, the worst case they had at the time. Sally saw the same visions, described as a 'shadow man'. “The shadow man... he saw my dreams.” Sally’s nostrils widened and a deep breath emerged from her elongated mouth. Evelyn passed the porridge with a shaky hand, frightened of what creature had been lurking the dormitory. A sharp shout brought Evelyn back to the room, the same hospital, the same day. Kathryn was slurping her porridge, eyes spinning like a lost soul. Evelyn took a deep breath, adjusted her apron, and swiftly left the room.&nbsp; Something about her episode with Kathryn haunted Evelyn all day, especially after she reminisced about Sally – the same memories. This bought her to remember the cold fact about how she was as stuck here as all the patients were, imprisoned. Insane. Something internal told her that she shouldn’t be there, she should be away in some exotic dream, experiencing life to the fullest, not trapped in a cold nightmare, scared. More than she had ever been.&nbsp;

There was a boy, 10 years old and his name was Chris. He had a perfect life!&nbsp; Or so he thought.&nbsp; He went to bed, his mum tucked him in and he dreamed away; he saw broken windows, cobwebs, ripped up carpet and blood on the walls! As he shivered a small spider landed on his head. He didn’t think much of it until he scratched his head and the tiny spider bit him directly in the middle of the hand!&nbsp; He passed out. He woke up in a long hallway and saw that all the doors where barricaded except one door, down the long, wrecked hallway. It was there… the off-centred door! He ran up to it as the hallway was getting thinner and thinner.&nbsp; He just made it through.&nbsp; Through the door, he stepped on a red carpet, looked up and it was the abandoned hotel, but something was wrong. It was not abandoned. He thought it was just magic or he was hallucinating, but no. He thought he was lost, screaming for someone to answer, crying his eyes out! Until one old man tapped him on the shoulder and whispered in a croaky voice, “leave while you still can, or the worst will happen!”&nbsp; Chris was confused and thought he was just crazy, so he ran and ran, then he stopped in the hallway. There was a mysterious figure with a white mask and something in his hand. Chris walked closer to the strange thing standing in the way. He screamed as loud as he could! The man had a sheepskin mask, blood all over it, holding a butcher knife! &nbsp;

Chris ran back as fast as he could. The old man who told him to leave was holding the door and said, “I told you to leave while you could, but you didn’t listen!” The old man slammed the door on Chris’s face, with the sheepskin chasing after him, grunting as he got closer.&nbsp; Chris cried so hard he could cry a river, sitting and moaning in the corner, thinking he would have some respect, ”Trying to kill a kid, who does that!?”&nbsp;he said. The man was standing right in front of him.&nbsp;&nbsp; Chris felt his breath on his hair, as the man was standing in front of him. Chris bit his leg to try and run away. But it didn't go to plan, the sheepskin man threw his knife and hit him in the leg, slicing through it, blood everywhere, you could see the bone. BANG! The old man opened the door and hit the sheepskin man with a hammer, fighting back but didn't succeed. The sheepskin man grabbed the hammer and hit his face into the ground. Chris has just seen so much that he slit his throat with the knife, hoping to get out of this dream!&nbsp;&nbsp; But he didn't wake up. All because of one door. If it had been barricaded, he would have lived!

The moment she opened her eyes she knew that something wasn’t right. Blinding, bright lights above her, things attached to her arms and legs. She felt a wave of discomfort as she tried to move into a different position. She blinked a few more times and opened her eyes fully. She looked around the room to see that she was in hospital. It was strange, her mind was foggy, she wanted answers and she wanted them soon. &nbsp; As she sat up in bed, reality hit. She tried to remember, to look back in her memories but as much as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to remember the thing that no-one should forget. Her name. But she also forgot another thing. Why was she here? She went outside the room and there were two nurses holding a tray of surgical equipment. As soon as they saw her, they dropped the tray and started running towards a different room. A doctor came out and looked shocked when he saw her. She didn’t understand why everyone was shocked when they looked at her! Was there something wrong with her? They took her to a surgical room and sat her down on one of the chairs and proceeded to do blood tests, X-rays, MRI scans, ultrasounds, and many other tests on her like she had just been in a car accident. After all the test results had come back, she called her parents, they were overjoyed to hear her voice, for some reason. They quickly come racing to the hospital and broke into tears when they saw her.

She was confused. Why were her parents this happy to see her? She remembered that her parents didn’t pay much attention to her growing up. Something bad must have happened if it was enough to make them cry. They started their journey home, it was quiet most of the way, with the occasional question. She decided to ask her parents what happened and why she was in hospital.&nbsp;&nbsp;“You were in a coma for 10 years after being in a car crash.” She knew that her mother was dead serious, but those words where nearly enough to put her into another coma! When she got home, the tension was awkward, she decided not to spend any more time with her parents and go to sleep as it had been a very long day after all. She tossed and turned and gazed out of the window. Then, as she was falling asleep, she remembered the one thing that no-one should forget. She remembered her name.

One night, an old frail lady went to bed in her tiny apartment. She fell fast asleep, but in the middle of the night, she woke up to a loud banging noise. Thinking that is was one of her neighbours, she went downstairs to say “hi,” but then she realised it wasn’t her neighbour, it was a tall skinny man, with black ripped jeans, a grimy grey vest top and black shoes. Realising this, she sprinted up the stairs and slammed the door with a bang. Thinking it was all a dream, she went back to bed.&nbsp; The next morning, she had forgotten about the events of the night before and went to work. That evening, when she got home, she realised that her apartment door was unlocked and half open. Thinking nothing of it, she went inside and had a shower, but when she went in, she discovered a weird red stain her carpet. However, she walked off and had a shower anyway. After her shower, she sat on the bed looking at herself in the mirror. Suddenly, she noticed something under her bed. Large black shoes were poking out of the side of the bed. She ran out of her apartment as quickly as she could, and she frantically called the police.&nbsp; When the police arrived, they asked the woman what had happened and if they could help her. She told them what had happened as they darted into the apartment and brought out a tall, skinny, slender man with black shoes came out, clutching a knife. They took him away in a police car and escorted her back into her apartment.&nbsp; The next morning, she woke up and turned on the TV to see the breaking news: “Breaking news, a man last night broke into an apartment on the outskirts of New York with a knife, planning to kill the woman inside.&nbsp;

We caught him and escorted him to the police car, but at the last minute, he escaped, and is now on the run!” The woman’s heart dropped and she burst into tears. She locked all the doors and stayed inside for the rest of the day.&nbsp; The next day, the woman went to see her parents to talk about what happened the other night. Her mum couldn’t believe it and gave her a huge hug. She felt cocooned and safe, and then her mum mentioned that the same thing happened to her friend a couple weeks ago. The woman asked her mum for her friend’s number, said goodbye and went back home.&nbsp; That evening, she called her mum’s friend and said she wanted to meet up; she agreed and was excited for the next day. The two women met up and hatched an amazing plan: they went to the closest store and bought a camera, setting it up where the man was supposed to be before they hid behind a tree in the drive. The man finally arrived, creeping into the house where he did the same thing as before. They had finally caught him in the act! They sprinted to the police and said that they had caught him and that he was still at the house.&nbsp; Waking up the next morning, the woman felt happy and safe, knowing that the man is in prison and will be in there forever. But not for long…

Rosilina Cove looked at the cursed gun in her hands and felt happy. She walked over to the window and reflected on her quiet surroundings. She had always loved the sunny Maidstone with its abundant, adventurous parks. It was a place that encouraged her tendency to feel happy and free. Then, she saw something in the distance, or rather someone. It was the figure of Layla, Layla Nesta. Layla was energetic and sinful; she had a curvy body and beautiful silk hair.Rosilina gulped. She glanced at her own reflection. She was a caring, stingy, alcohol drinker with emerald, green eyes and her pretty blonde hair. Her friends saw her as an abundant, vicious demon. Although, once she had helped a dim kitten cross the road - not even a caring person was prepared for what Layla had in store today. The rain hammered like laughing blue bottles, making Rosilina relaxed. Rosilina took the elevator downand stepped outside, she saw Layla walking closer, closer, and closer. She could see the substantial glint in her eye. "Look Rosilina," growled Layla, with a charming glare that reminded Rosilina of energetic kittens. "I want a fight. You owe me 5k."&nbsp; Rosilina looked back, even more relaxed and still fingering the cursed gun.&nbsp; "Layla, I don’t care how much I owe you. I just want you dead." Rosilina replied.&nbsp; They looked at each other with confident feelings, like two sparkling, shrill snakes dancing at a very violent rave, with jazz music playing in the background and two bold uncles partying to the beat.&nbsp;

Suddenly, Layla lunged forward and tried to punch Rosilina in the face. Quickly, Rosilina grabbed the cursed gun and brought it down on Layla's skull. Layla's elegant eyes trembled, and her body wobbled. Her body was unstable, her wallet raw like a keen, knobbly knife. *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* Then she let out an agonising groan and collapsed onto the ground. Moments later Layla’s lifeless body rested beneath Rosilina’s feet. Red, Red, Red. All she saw was red. Red on her hands, Red on her shoes, Red on her shirt. The clear rain mixing with the warm red liquid. She dropped the gun into the bin. Turning her back on the lifeless body that now lay restless in the cold red rain. Rosilina went back inside and made herself a drink of black tea mixed with Bourbon to enjoy the rainy Sunset view. “To Layla Nesta” she Lifted her drink in the air then brought it down to her lips taking a small sip. “To Layla…indeed” she whispered to herself. “You now have an objective for me, say hello to the Devil for me.” She smirked.

Drip. Drip. Drip.&nbsp; One bright summer’s morning, a happy couple of newlyweds moved into their first home together. At first everything was fine... until it wasn’t!&nbsp; Every day, every night all they could hear was the drip, drip, dripping sound and they never knew from where it came, until…&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drip. Drip. Drip.&nbsp;&nbsp; At first, they thought it was a leaky tap, nothing abnormal. They hired a plumber. He checked all the taps, the toilets, and the showers. He could find no leak or proof of any problems. So, where was the sound coming from? They checked outside, but still no sign of any dripping water. That was when the curiosity set in.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Where is it coming from? Why couldn’t they find it? How can they find it? This is all they could think about, day in and day out!&nbsp;&nbsp;The more they checked, the more the frustration set in. They couldn’t sleep, not knowing where the sound was coming from. At night, they lay awake listening to the constant drip, drip, drip and finally becoming annoyed they would start looking, but always in vain. As they looked without success it began driving them insane, until a few years had passed.&nbsp; The couple had finally come to terms with the sound; over time it became barely noticeable to them. Until one night, the wife had a sudden urge to go and check the house as she thought she heard a noise.

Without waking her partner, who was asleep next to her, she felt a pull to get out of bed and try to make sure no one was in the house. It was as if someone was whispering in her ear, telling her to do it.&nbsp; First, she started with the upstairs, every room, behind every door in every room, having grabbed a bat which she now held tightly in her hand. Every step she took it felt like the carpet was covered in blood, but when she switched the light on nothing was there. She turned to head back down the stairs, each step she would get shivers running down her spine; the hair on her arms standing up. Each step down the stairs she got colder and colder until every hair on her body was stuck up, her heart pounding like a thousand drums. Then she heard the clinking of the metal, the stench of blood, earth, and sewage. Then she saw the most revolting thing she has ever seen in her entire life! She looked in the mirror. An army of soldiers, long dead, were stood behind her. One reached out and grabbed her hair.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The road is stony, sharp even. I’m saying this because I am in a paralysed state on an icy cold floor, and I can feel virtually anything that touches my bruised skin. Why, might you ask? Because I just went on a massacre and now, I must play dead, or I’ll probably be arrested. Again, you might want to know why I did so.&nbsp; I did it because I wanted to. These people deserve it. It’s the middle of winter and I’m encircled with the outcome of my own actions - fun. I’m not saying at all that I regret anything that I did, no…no…just expressing one of the many thoughts that plague my mind. The blunt red and blue lights bear into my eyelids even though my eyes are tightly shut. Everything hurts. But mentally, I feel numb. Actually, I don’t know what I feel. Maybe…remorse? For all the people that I brutally traumatised? No. I don’t know anymore. I just know that I’m seriously in trouble if they find out what I did. I guess I’ll just wait to be found.&nbsp; I can distantly hear someone groaning. It sounds muffled, granted, but that’s not a good sign. He’s a witness. I need to get rid of him somehow. But it’s too late now, the police are here, and so are the reporters. He could get me jailed or even worse, killed. There are helicopters above me. Again, not good. This is the only person that is a reliable witness and for the first time in many years, I am oblivious as to what I should do. This wasn’t a such a good idea, although I must say that the adrenaline rush is pretty good.&nbsp;

My only option is to kill him. Gradually, I manage to shuffle close enough to the discarded, pitiful rifle laying on the floor, but now noise is my biggest problem. If I shoot, it will make a deafening bang, but if I don’t, I’ll probably get imprisoned for the rest of my life. I’m going to do it. I’m going to shoot.&nbsp; One by one, my heated, blood-covered fingers enlace the gun, as I pick up the rifle. Inside it, the bullets softly rattle. My aim will have to be exemplary, seeing as I’m laying down. Getting up would be stupid. My intention is to throw the gun aside as fast as I can, in order to get the attention someplace else. If I do everything according to plan, I should succeed in getting rid of my witness.&nbsp; Bang! Well, now that he’s been taken care of, I must hastily throw the weapon of murder aside. As I toss the gun into some neighbouring bushes it makes a loud noise. The police sprint away from the crime scene to find the source of the commotion. But now I must figure out how to get away without being noticed...

Two taps on the shoulder were enough to draw her back again, and she swivelled around to face Almroth Wright, the owner of Barming Asylum. Evelyn’s eyes widened, surprised to see such an authoritative figure confronting her; as far as she was aware, he had no idea she existed. “Evelyn...” He gave a stern look as he held her shoulder, gently turning her as he spoke. This was all extremely odd, having never even spoken to the man pushing her towards his office.&nbsp;“I have a confession, a rather solemn one at that. Come.” Almroth pushed open his grand door, marked with a silver plaque stating his name. Evelyn hesitated before following him into the dim interior. Grey walls, well preserved in comparison to the dormitories. A frame hung on the wall, holding a small black and white image of himself standing before the brand-new building they were sat in now. He pointed to a chair positioned neatly in front of his vintage desk. He sat behind it, facing Evelyn, staring through her skull. Evelyn blinked, pushing Almroth to finish his ‘confession’. “Well, you see, I heard that there’s been mention of..” Almroth pulled off his pair of silver glasses, polishing the lenses with the corner of his shirt. Evelyn nodded, trying to hurry the whole conversation up a bit. "A – A shadow man?”&nbsp; On these words he looked up from his glasses, pausing for a reaction from Evelyn. She scratched at her scalp, looking down at the floor and breaking the connection between her and Almroth.

“They are not ghosts. Nor spirits. They are merely living...” he hesitated to take in a deep breath, “...people.”&nbsp; Evelyn was confused.&nbsp;“And, how is that, may I inquire?”&nbsp; They met eyes once more, a tense atmosphere beginning to seep into the small office. Almroth drew his hands towards his forehead, pinching slightly at the bridge of his nose. “They are people. Real people. Living in the real world. For them, the time is not 1933 as it is for us, but 2022. Ninety-nine years ahead.” “Well, what does that make us? Time travellers?” Evelyn asked. “No… No, Not Time travellers, exactly... More... Ghosts? Spirits? Shadows?” Evelyn chewed her lip and thought it through. After a minute or so, she looked back up to the man telling her that her life was a lie. “Then how did we become ghosts? And when?” It was hard for Evelyn to understand.&nbsp; “You died... We... we died 99 Years ago, Darling.” He looked back at her again.&nbsp; Evelyn was frightened, yet still confused. “And... And how did we... die? How did we die?” “Well... That’s my confession. You see darling, you’ll just have to find out.” Almroth grinned, tilting his head slightly. The following morning, Barming’s other nurses found Evelyn dead in her bed, nothing but a pool of blood on the floor, and a clean sheet of paper, empty of writing. Only the words Help. Insane. Run. Almroth Sto- were left to explain what had happened.

Earlier today, a windy summer’s day, BOBROSSPOTATO was pulled out of the ground by the farmer - with his potato friends - to go to the huge factory, so that he and his friends can be checked to see if they’re good quality potatoes, and then be sold. He got put into a wooden crate in the back of a red rusty old truck to go to the gigantic city. The truck went to the back of a shop and unloaded. In the big shop, he was quickly put on a shelf with his friends. One by one, they were grabbed, and bought in the shop, but he and some of his friends were not bought. He wanted to leave, so he grew legs and then went out to the city. He had an adventure around the big, beautiful city. Then, for the first time ever, he saw the ocean. He was amazed. Next, he came across a fish and chip shop. Someone opened the door. BOBROSSPOTATO went inside, where he heard the screams of his friends in the back. He went into the back to look at what the fuss was, but when he did, he was terrified. He shook as he saw his friends getting cut up and cooked to a crisp before getting eaten. The shop was closing, but the people cleaning found him. BOBROSSPOTATO was so horrified, he was frozen in shock, but then he was picked up and brought to the back. He thought he was about to go through the most pain in his life but then he woke up and secretly ran away. Realising he must help his dear friends, he ran back in, but without realising, he messed up and ran straight into a trap. He was put on the chopping board. When the chef turned around, he rolled off, but he didn’t get very far. He was slammed back on the chopping board.

Before he could get chopped up, his friends jumped down, raining down on the chef so BOBROSSPOTATO could escape, but his friends didn’t make it. BOBROSSPOTATO escaped the kitchen.&nbsp; Running away, he found a little room he could live in. When he went in, he found one of his friends who let him in. He asked his friend,&nbsp;“how did you get here?” “I escaped the fish and chip shop and found this nice little room.” Then they talked about how terrible the fish and chip shop was before they carefully and quietly crept out and were safe at last.&nbsp;

Most impressive story The Nameless Girl Crina Baban Most imaginative story Cursed Dina&nbsp;Vindzigelskyte Most progress throughout the project The Door Leo Nunn-Emery Most enthusiastic The Drip Isabella McArdle Most suspenseful story Gravel Saifya&nbsp;Vafaie Most Original Perspective The Potato Extinction&nbsp; Callum Jonas The Hosts' stories 	The Slender Man&nbsp; 	Poppy Schofield 	Insanity&nbsp; 	Molly Hayton

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