The Dare

I was cleaning out some old papers last night and I came upon this:

"The Dare"
by
Bonnie Winstead
age 11

"Creeeek!" went the steps as Sarah waled up to an old house in the woods. "I'll show them I'm not afraid of this old house," said Sarah as she remembered the deal she had made with her friends.
Sarah would get five dollars if she went inside the house and sat down for twenty minutes. "Who would be scared of this house anyway? It's just an old ugly house!" But inside, Sarah knew her bones were shaking!
When she reached the door, she hesitated, then turned the knob. But, as soon as she opened it she screamed for she had come face-to-face with a skeleton! She took one look at the skeleton and fainted dead away.
"Ooooh," she said as she awakened on the porch. "I must have hit my head." Then she looked around. It was getting dark and rain was falling. "I guess I'll have to stay here longer than I planned," Sarah said. The door was still open and the skeleton still there. She walked inside slowly and quietly. The room had two chairs and a very small coffee table. In the corner of the room stood a grandfather clock. "Spooky," Sarah said. Then she walked slowly over to the coffee table. On it lay a dusty book. Sarah picked it up and started flipping through it. One page caught her eye. It said, "I was alone in a house when the grandfather clock struck twelve." Right below it was a picture of a young man who had on a gold necklace with a ruby in it.
Sarah remembered something about the skeleton. She ran over to the skeleton and, sure enough, the skeleton was wearing the same necklace as the man in the book! Sarah sucked in her breath and then let it out in short gasps. "Ok," she said. "How'd this guy's necklace end up on a skeleton?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of eleven long gongs coming from the grandfather clock. "Ohhh no, in one hour I'll probably end up like the guy in the book!"
Sarah felt her eyelids drooping and soon fell asleep in one of the chairs. She was awakened suddenly by TWELVE long gongs from the grandfather clock! She sat there a moment, startled. Her hand flew to her chest. She looked down and whispered, "How can this be?" For around her neck was the same gold necklace with the ruby in the center. Then, Sarah let out a terrified scream......
The End