Table Of Contents

Page 4- Gator eyes

Page 24- Brochure

Page 26- Spook Hill

Page 27- Haunted

Page 28- Benji's Wish

PAGE 29- A Chief's revenge

PAGE 30- Meeting a Ghost

Page 31- driving on spook hill

page 32- sources

Gator Eyes

T’was a dark and spooky October night in Lake Wales, Florida. Two thirteen year olds, Benji and Bonnie, were riding their bikes towards their town’s local landmark. The air was heavy against their necks and a blanket of fog covered the knotted roots of the cypress trees.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Benji said. “I think we should turn back.”

“Don’t be such a wimp,” Bonnie sassed. “Nothing is going to happen.”

She peddled faster on her bike as Benji whimpered.

Earlier that day as Bonnie and Benji were huddled inside the treehouse, they could hear Bonnie’s brother Danny and Benji’s sister Shelly whispering about the legend of Spook Hill.

“The gator is supposed to come back you know,” Danny said.

“What do you mean?”

“The ghost of the gator will one day come back for revenge.”

“Revenge for...” Shelly puzzled.

“A long time ago there was a Seminole tribe that lived on the edge of the lake below the hill. When tribe members kept going missing their chief decided to investigate. He discovered that a colossal bull gator was responsible for the disappearances. The gator dragged the bloody bodies across the grass into the lake where he drowned them. Apparently you could see the bloodstains on the grass the next morning. He- ”

“Oh stop, that didn’t really happen.” Shelly rolled her eyes.

“Gee whiz Shel, of course it did. The chief went out and avenged his tribe. He went out to find the murderous monster. He hid in the bushes until the gator emerged from the lake. When the gator was fully out of the lake, the chief jumped out of the bushes and wrapped his arms around the gator’s large and leathery snout to protect himself. With a knife in hand, the chief struggled to gain control over the gator. They were locked in a barrel roll when the chief managed to free his hand long enough to stab the gator in his underbelly.”

“So that’s it then. The chief won.”

“Yes until the spirit of the gator came back.”

Shelly lowered her voice to a whisper Bonnie and Benji strained to hear. “What?” she murmured.

Danny jumped up to his feet. In the tree house above, Bonnie and Benji bonked their heads in an attempt to avoid being caught eavesdropping.

“A gator-“ Benji started.

Bonnie waved her hand in front of his face. “Shhhhhh.”

“Legend says the gator’s ghost is still up there on the hill, tormenting anyone who visits.” Danny added with a smirk.

“Where is this hill?” Shelly asked.

“Behind the school by the big lake.” Danny winked at Shelly and they walked away with muffled giggles.

Benji backed up from the edge of the tree house with a pale face.

Bonnie’s face lit up with excitement. “We have to go check it out.”

“W-what? Why? You just heard Danny’s story!”

“Exactly! That’s why we have to go. We have to see it for ourselves.” Bonnie started packing up their book bag.

“But Danny said the gator is still up there!”

Bonnie grabbed a flashlight and stuffed it inside.

“Bonnie, we can’t go up there!” Benji panicked.

“Do you think we should get snacks? Let’s get snacks,” Bonnie answered herself without giving Benji any attention.

“We won’t need any snacks if we’re DEAD.”

 “Don’t be such a chump.” Bonnie zipped her book bag shut and climbed down the tree house. “Meet back here after dinner. We leave at dusk, bring your bike.”

Benji turned away with beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “Why does this always happen to me,” he mumbled to himself. He watched as Bonnie joyfully skipped away in the direction of her house.

“Don’t forget the snacks!”

Back on their bikes, Benji struggled to keep up with Bonnie. It was getting darker by the second and all he could see was the gleam from the reflector on her bike ahead of him.

After what seemed like forever, Bonnie came to a halt. They both gazed at the large hill in front of them. The moonlight lit up the sky and the kids noticed the steam coming off of the lake by the hill. The steam created a fog that rolled over to the bottom of the hill, making it hard to see where the ground ended and where the hill began.

“This is it.” Bonnie started.

“Okay we saw it. Can we please go home now?” Benji pleaded. His knees were shaking and he was finding it hard to keep his thoughts straight.

“Not even close” Bonnie swung her leg over her bike and pulled Benji with her to hide behind a bush.

A few minutes of silence had passed when suddenly there was a splash behind them.

Benji rattled. “Did you hear that,” he choked. “What if it was the gator?”

“It was probably just a fish. Trust me, the gator would have been louder.”

Benji shuttered. He managed to take a few deep breaths before he heard rustling coming from the tree above him. “What was that?!”

She rolled her eyes. “Calm down Benji.”

“Bonnie, I know you heard that!”

“It’s Florida. There’s lots of animals that makes lots of sounds. Get over -.”

“WHO ENTERS THE LAND OF THE UNCONQUERED?” called a booming voice from the top of the hill.

“Did that come from an animal too, Bonnie?” Benji sneered. He looked at Bonnie and noticed that her face had gone white.

“BE GONE BEFORE THE SPIRIT OF THE BULL GATOR GETS YOU.”

Another splash, much louder and powerful than the one before, came from the lake.  

‘That was the gator! He’s coming for us.” Bonnie wrapped her arms around Benji. “This was a huge mistake. We never should have come here. I’m sorry I made you do this.” Her eyes were shut tight and Benji could feel her tears wetting his t-shirt.

With his best friend paralyzed with fear, Benji took control of the situation. “Listen, this is not the time to be scared. Let’s go!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards their bikes.

As they stumbled to get on their bikes, two silhouettes came charging down the hill towards them.

Once the figures were finally close enough to be seen clearly it was obvious that they were actually Danny and Shelly and not a deceased Seminole chief or the spirit of a bull gator.

“Hello you little squirts!” taunted Shelly to her younger brother and his nearly crying companion.

This reveal angered both Bonnie and Benji, their courage and fear had been for nothing. The young duo became embarrassed and turned to leave without offering a come back to Shelly.

“I can’t believe they would do this to us!” Benji screamed. “I have never been so scared in my life.” He grabbed the backpack and started towards his bike.

“We’re never going to live this down.” Bonnie was shaking with anger as the two friends disappeared from view.

Down at the bottom of the hill, Danny and Shelly laughed at their younger siblings as they climbed onto their bikes. Before they started pedaling, a strange force began dragging them up the hill as if a spirit were claiming them as its victims.

“Danny this isn’t funny!” Shelly shrieked. “The plan wasn’t for you to scare me too! How are you doing this?”

“It’s not me, Shelly! How could I possibly be dragging us both up the hill? I’m not even touching you!” Danny answered panic-stricken.