Leanna’s Tale
Leanna awoke to a loud humming noise that filled her room and made her eardrums tremble. She pressed her back against the white slathered wood of the headboard and clasped her hands over her ears. Her big blue eyes searched the darkness for any sign of the noise.
Everything stood quietly. Nothing seemed out of place. Leanna pulled back the sheets and stepped into the fuzzy pink slippers that always stood at the ready. She shuffled over to her window and twisted the plastic wand that rolled up the flexible blades of the blind. That’s when she saw it.
It was the biggest most beautiful light she had ever seen in her whole life. It hovered just a few feet off of the ground and its color seemed to ripple with a translucent shimmer. First green, now red, it never kept one color for long, but seemed to be dancing to some unseen energy. Leanna clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle a cry.
The light dimmed suddenly and behind it Leanna could just make out the shape of a strange silver orb, wider than one of those big trucks she often saw driving down the dusty highways of Moriarty. Leanna watched in horror as the side of the orb opened and a sleek, chrome-like staircase extended from the side. Down it moved a dark shape, with spindly arms and long legs bent at strange angles. Leanna felt her stomach turn as the creature made its way down the stairs and stepped onto the dewey ground of Leanna’s backyard.
“Mama!” Leanna shouted out. She felt like her heart was going to pound through her chest. “Mama! Come here, quick!”
A few moments passed in silence and Leanna stood, frozen and horrified, as another creature descended from the interior of the strange silver orb.
“Mama!” Leanna screamed again.
“What? What it is?” she heard her mother’s familiar voice behind her. Marie Ledbetter shuffled in with a dazed look of dismay stretched across her face. “What is it Leanna?”
“Th-th-there!” Leanna shouted, pointing towards the window, horrified. “Outside! On the back lawn!”
“It’s just another bad dream, Leanna,” her mother started already moving toward’s the pink sheets of Leanna’s bed. “Come on now, baby doll. Let’s close those blinds and get you back in bed.”
“No, mama—!”
“No,” her mother said sharply, cutting Leanna off. “Now get back into bed right this instant or I’ll make you get in this bed.” It was clear from her mother’s voice that there would be no argument. Leanna threw one last glance towards the window and the strange creatures who were even now probably making their way towards the house.
Leanna blinked. She could not believe her eyes.
The strange craft was gone, its blinking lights evaporated into the still night air. Leanna looked around for any sign of the strange creatures, but she could not find them. It had all disappeared as if shadows from a nightmare. Leanna let out a sigh of relief as she turned and made her way back towards the bed. She grabbed her mother’s hand as she raised the covers towards Leanna’s chin.
“Mama, there was something outside. Something strange.”
“Mmhmm…” her mother muttered as she planted a kiss on Leanna’s forehead. “It was probably just a raccoon or something, Leanna,” she told the girl dismissively. “There’s animals out there all the time. I see them. Your father sees them too. There’s nothing to be afraid of, we’re nice and safe in here.”
Leanna released her mother’s hand and let the woman tuck in the sides of the covers tightly around her.
“Now, you go to sleep,” her mother said, turning and making for the door. “And when you wake up, I’ll make you extra special pancakes with your favorite caramel sauce.”
Leanna smiled and snuggled down into the soft folds of her pillows, closing her eyes and letting a hazy exhaustion take over her. Her mother was right. It was just her imagination taking over her again. Things would be better in the morning. Things were always better in the morning.
***
Leanna waited until all her classmates had gone to rise from her seat and make her way to the front of the classroom. She pulled out the neatly stapled report and placed it down on the top of the pile, turning towards the door.
“Leanna, may I talk with you a moment?” she heard Ms. Kryzinsky ask. Leanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath before spinning around with a smile on her face.
“Yes, Ms. Kryzinsky,” she said happily, staring up at the portly, spectacled woman.
The other kids called Ms. Kryzinsky a the Crazy Cat Lady, or CCL for short, but Leanna didn’t like to make fun of her teachers or the other students. A string of failed marriages behind her, Ms. Kryzinsky had settled down in Moriarty after her last husband had left her for a waitress he met on one of his long haul trucking jobs. She lived in a little mobile home on the edge of town, and kept a strange garden of cacti that were protected by a gaudy wood carving of a cat with brown spots.
She was a plain woman, but sweet, and Leanna liked her more than some of the other teachers. She normally wore tight polyester skirt suits in horrid shades of pastel, but today, she had opted for a more modest rayon blend, in a color that was more akin to a vomit green than any other color on the visible spectrum.
Ms. Kryzinsky motioned for Leanna to take a seat in one of the desks on the front row and proceeded to walk around the front of her own desk, coming to rest her heavy weight on one paper-draped edge.
“I wanted to talk to you about the summer project,” Ms. Kryzinsky said, getting straight to the point. “We’re looking for a few more bright pupils to join the team and I thought that you would be a perfect candidate.”
Leanna’s stomach churned.
“I…I…I’m not sure,” she stammered, staring at the floor. One of the fluorescent lights flickered overhead and Leanna felt its buzz turn into a ring inside her ear. “I would have to ask my parents.”
“Well, I’m sure they would love for you to join. This is a very prestigious opportunity you know.”
“Yeah. Sure,” Leanna said, letting the lie come to her easy. “It’s just that we usually go away in the summers, to see our family in Florida, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to do a summer project. You know, just because I will be away with my family for so long.”
Ms. Kryzinsky narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. Leanna could hear the rough rustle of the fabric as the woman’s heavy arms rubbed together.
“Leanna, this isn’t just about the summer project, you know. It’s about you and your place here in this school. I worry about you, young lady. You seem to have no friends, you seem to take part in no extra curricular activities. But you’re one of the smartest brains in the room, no matter what class you’re in, if the grades would have us believe it.”
Leanna’s cheeks burned and she had to swallow the bile that was rising in her throat.
To say she was an unpopular girl at school would be an understatement. It was almost the regular pastime of the girls at Moriarty High to make her life a living hell. Whether it was dousing her in wet garbage, or throwing her backpack out into the middle of moving traffic, the other girls loved to make life hard for her. It had started all the way back in kindergarten and hadn’t stopped, no matter what techniques Leanna had tried to use to deal with it. Leanna could feel Ms. Kryzinsky’s eyes on her, but she refused to look up.
She wanted friends more than anyone else, but it just wasn’t meant to be for her. She had made friends once with a girl that had moved there from New York, but it had only been a few weeks before her family had moved on again, this time to Los Angeles and the bright lights and sparkling beaches of the west coast. Leanna had begged her parents to move as well, even if only to the next school district, but they had refused. She had to learn to face her bullies, they said. She had to learn to be brave and learn to stick up for herself.
Leanna bit her lip.
“I understand, Ms. Kryzinsky,” she whispered. The tears were threatening to come now, threatening to choke her up. “I’ll ask my parents tonight, as soon as they get home from work.”
It wasn’t enough for the pudgy teacher.
“I think I really have to persist in writing a letter home to your parents,” she harped on. “I’m not sure if they’re aware of the full extent of your troubles here at school. I think that they need to be made aware that the social aspects of school are just as critical as the educational aspects. While your grades are fantastic, you could really benefit from taking part in a peer-based group like the one the summer project will offer. Not only will you be able to get some extra credit, but you’ll be able to meet a few new faces and hopefully make some friends that will greater round out your time here at Moriarty High School.”
Ms. Kryzinsky made her way around the desk and took a seat, pulling out a fresh sheathe of paper and pulling out one blue-inked pin from behind one ear.
“Now, should I address this letter to your mother, your father, or both?” the teacher asked her, her eyes faced down towards the desk. “It doesn’t matter to me. It’s whatever you’d prefer.”
Leanna’s heart pounded and there was a blinding roar pounding in her eardrums. If her mother got this letter, there would be no escaping the summer project. Her mind raced frantically.
“My father,” she said quickly, thinking of the last time she had brought home a permission slipped to be signed. William Ledbetter had barely scanned the document before slicing his lazy scrawl across the bottom. Leanna could only hope for that kind of leniency again. “Make it out to my father,” she said.
The room went quiet as Ms. Kryzinsky began to write. Leanna stared down at the rippling lines of the desk. Her stomach turned over again and again and she felt as though she was going to be ill.
“Here you are,” Ms. Kryzinsky said after several long minutes of awkward silence. She stood behind her desk and held the letter out in front of her. It was sealed in a clean white envelope. Leanna stood and took a few steps towards the desk. Her head began to swim and her vision wavered.
“Leanna,” she heard Ms. Kryzinsky’s voice say strangely, as if far away. “Leanna, are you alright?”
Leanna could feel herself stagger and threw her arm out to catch hold of anything; anything that might keep her from collapsing. She stumbled a few more times before her knees gave out beneath her.
“Leanna!” she heard her teacher scream as darkness enveloped her and the hard linoleum floor rushed up to meet her. “Leanna!”
Leanna let herself be swallowed up whole.
Title: Leanna's Tale
Genre: YA Scifi Thriller
Age range: 12 - 16
Word Count: (As Stands) 5,532
Author Name: EB Johnson
Why a Good Fit: This short, YA novel is a fast paced sci-fi thriller aimed at young adults. It's a quality story that draws you in from the start and doesn't let off the gas until the end.
The hook: An average, relatable girl experiences a terrifying encounter that begins to unravel the life she has come to know. While the story originally starts off as a relatively harmless sci-fi caper, it soon diverges into a dark, fast-paced psychological thriller.
Synopsis: Life in the small town of Moriarty, New Mexico turns upside down after a teenager, Leanna, experiences a blood-chilling encounter. As she searches for the truth, Leanna must confront reality, and the shadows of a past best-forgotten.
Target Audience: Early / Middle Aged Teen Girls
Bio: I'm a 27 y/o aspiring author with a penchant for history and poetry. I've written several manuscripts (adult fantasy, historical fiction, etc). My short stories have been published in eBooks and earlier this year I published my own (physical) collection of poetry on Amazon titled, Le Jardin.
I love sports, the outdoors and all things animals. I played rugby at an extremely competitive level and spent 2 years coaching men's and women's rugby in Scotland. I have a keen interest in social issues and politics, and also never turn down a good chance for adventure. I maintain a large and active social media audience (check me out on Tumblr, @TheHonestAuthor, I'm hilarious...) and consider myself to be an "every (wo)man" type of writer.