Last Minutes

• Olivia Bentley, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2013

Bang! Bang! Bang! the sound of gun fire and the screams of women and children echoed in my ears.
“Is it over?” my little sister Khaya whispered in my ears. “Are the monsters gone?” her twin brother Michael asked me. I didn’t have an answer, so I just squeezed them tighter. It hurt me to see them like that, curled up in the corner of the room, shaking with fear and covering their ears trying to block out the horrible sounds coming from outside. Holding each other close so that nothing could separate them, with only me to sheltering them from the terror of the world outside.
A huge explosion shook the Earth and Khaya screamed at the unfamiliar feeling and squeezed me so tight I could no longer breathe properly. “Ssssshhhh!” I told her quickly because I heard the talk of the men out side. All of a sudden I heard massive bangs on the front door. It gave way to the force of their blows. I sheltered Michael and Khaya’s faces into my body and prayed with all my will that the solders wouldn’t find us hiding in the next room.
“Over here!” I heard a voice yell out to the others. I turned, making sure to keep my brother and sister behind me, but what I saw wasn’t what I was expecting. A boy not much older than me standing at the end of the living room with a large gun strapped to his body. After a moment of silence the rest of the men ran into the room. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout. I wanted to run way to a better place in this world. To tell the men to get out and stay out. But I just sat there frozen waiting to take my next breath.
“What do we do with them?” I heard the boy ask the other men. Looking quite puzzled about what to do, one of the men started to move towards us to assess the situation better. The twins started to get restless as the man moved closer. I tried to hold them still, but Michael broke free of my grip and ran straight for the door. The soldier was startled by Michael’s sudden movements and quickly reached for his gun. Without a second thought, I jumped In front of my younger brother just as the man pulled the trigger.
A piercing pain went right through my side and I fell to the ground clenching my side. I felt my brother drop to beside me “Sister, sister!” I heard him cry. “I’m okay, now go” I managed to say before I went in to a semiconscious state. My vision was blurred and I could no longer speak or move, so I just lay there with blood gushing out of me.
My little sister was reluctant to leave, but my brother listened to my final instruction and pulled her away. By the time the soldiers gathered themselves they had left. The boy with the large gun rushed to my side to see if I was still alive. “Don’t even bother.” one of them said “she’s a goner.” said another. The boy slowly stood up and walked away. But I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t want to be alone in my last minutes. Slowly the world turned to darkness, as I closed my eyes and took my final breath. It was my last minute on this earth.
Now when I look down from the world beyond I can smile because I know I died so they could live.