Safe

• Liam Wong, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2019

Patrick was a 15-year-old boy who had a simple job as a paperboy. As he walked through the gates of a house labelled 345, he felt a strange evil tickling sensation come over him. As he knocked on the door, the door opened all by itself! In the house it was dark, Patrick called out. There was no answer except for an unlocatable whispering. He walked in and was instantly met with something, it began to take form, first a shadow then a blurry form of a man, but with strange glowing eyes, yelping, Patrick ran towards the bright light. He burst through the brightly lit room and slammed it shut. Panting he could see two teenagers and a young kid. Suddenly a hand slammed into the glass door of the room, Patrick scurried closer to the other children. The little kid told him that the monster called the “Beast” couldn’t get into brightly lit rooms, Patrick looked at the beast outside, it was snarling with its mouth foaming with saliva. The little kid (whose name was George) told him that they had been stuck in the room for three months! ‘No way!’ Patrick thought. He looked back at the beast which had begun to float back to its lair. “I got to get you guys outta here!” Patrick told them.
That night, Patrick devised a plan to sneak past the beast. Over the next few weeks, Patrick noticed that the beast had sleeping patterns: Midday to two o’clock. He used those precious two hours to set distraction, just a little bit by little bit. A few weeks later Patrick told the other kids that they were breaking out, he told them the plan. At one o’clock they all snuck out together, all was going good until George accidentally stepped on a piece of equipment Patrick had carelessly left behind, Patrick mentally kicked himself as he listened while the sound travelled down the room. Then he heard shuffling. On instinct Patrick got out the remote he had and pressed it, a small explosion sound rebounded over and over again off the walls, that was their distraction! “Go, go, go!” Patrick shouted. Everyone bolted for the door, everyone made it out, then Patrick sprinted to the doorway, he was almost through when the beast dragged him back into the house. He kicked the invisible body of the beast in the chest and slammed the door shut. As a group still on adrenaline they ran for the gates, Patrick and George got through the gates safely, but just as the two teenagers (Karen and Logan) were about to exit, their eyes glowed the same colour as the beast’s just for a second, they sprinted back into the house. ‘Noooo!’ Patrick thought as he ran back into the house in an attempt to save them. He dragged them back out, they were kicking and thrashing and yelling. He dragged them through the gates. They were all terrified but safe. “Safe” sighed Patrick extremely exhausted.