Destruction of Charn
Rosemary and her older twin brother, William, ran up to the attic of their grandma’s house. They had finally gotten permission to explore. They scrambled up the rickety ladder that led to the dark, dry attic. Inside of the attic, there were boxes filled with books, old toys, pieces of dilapidated furniture, and many other odd items here and there. Both William and Rosemary started to rummage through all if the boxes, searching for anything that seemed interesting. One particular box caught Rosemary’s eye. The box was not a plain wooden or cardboard box. The box was sealed tightly shut and covered with strange shapes and designs. It was slightly smaller than a microwave oven. Intrigued by the sight, Rosemary cautiously crept over to the box and tried to open it. First she tried tugging at the top; then, she found a metal latch that kept it shut. Rosemary carefully undid the latch and warily opened the box. She decided to call her brother over before further investigating the box.
“Will, come over here,” she called, “I want to show you something.”
Will hastily scrambled over.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Look at what I found.”
Both of them peered into the box. The contents of the box were rather odd. Inside, there was a beautiful white, silk dress. On top of the dress lay a heavy golden crown that had crimson jewels set into it. William picked up the crown and placed it next to the box while, Rosemary was taking out the dress and folding it next to the box. There was nothing else in the box except for a few pieces of jewelry and a package that was wrapped in some sort of beige colored cloth. William picked up the package and started to unwrap it. Inside of the package was a worn leather-bound book. On the cover, the title was written in bold lettering. The title was “The Destruction of Charn.”
“What a weird title,” commented Rosemary. “Hey, William, why don’t you read it out loud? Hello? William, are you listening to me?”
“Hmm,” replied Will, who was opening the book.
“William! Read it out loud,” ordered Rosemary, “William, are you listening to me?”
William gave a contemptuous glance to his sister and answered, “Fine.”
William began to read…
