WAR

• Benita Becker, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2010

The loud horns pierced the silent air, alarming the harmless elf-folk.
“WAR!” someone was running through the village. My husband bolted out of the bed and started getting dressed in his soldier gear.
“Take care of the kids and stay hidden!” he said kissing me on the cheek then left. My children Mysc and Jyspa came running out from under the bed.
“Get dressed and hurry up!” I yelled pulling out the first pair of clothes I could see. When we had got dressed we ran outside in the misty, morning air, over to the underground cell. When we got there a soldier was standing outside the door.
“Sorry. There’s no more room, go to the trees.” I stood there stunned then ran towards the forest, with my children behind me. We need to find a bulky, branchy tree. I glanced upwards to see a massive, sturdy tree, ideal for climbing up and staying hidden. We started to climb quickly.

We have climbed passed the low cloud and couldn’t see anything under us. “Mysc?” I said looking around, there was the twelve-year-old girl holding her nine-year-old brother in her arms. Their strong, hard breathes clung to the air.
“Mum, what about Dad? He’s not here?” Jyspa asked puzzled.
“He’s fighting for us” I answered. Another horns blasted, ripping the air like a piece of cloth, telling us that the war had begun.

We waited silently, listening to horrible, gruesome sounds. The children were devastated. There was a glow of red light, going on for quite a while. Suddenly a cream, yellow dragon bolted through the rising cloud.
“Aaaaargh!” Mysc screamed.
“Don’t be afraid, Mysc. It’s only Sylva” I said as Mysc stopped screaming. Sylva pierced through the sky like a lightning bolt. Then she swooped down like an eagle catching it’s pray. Another glow of red filled the cloud. We have a dragon on our side we shall surely win; my only concern is my husband.

The sounds have stopped and the cloud has lifted, allowing us to see, the war is finished and we have won. We started climbing down the tree quickly. The children were anxious to see their father again.
“Kids!” someone screamed out to us. We glanced down at my husband, waiting for us to come. We all climbed faster and faster,
until we reached the ground. We ran to embrace him; we were so worried about him. As we hugged him I asked “why were they fighting us for?”
“I think it was from vengeance” he said letting us go. The kids kissed him and hugged him more than I, must be because they have never experienced anything like this before.
We all walked back to the village together with Jyspa on my husband’s back, Mysc holding my hand and my husbands hand and mine around each others shoulders.