A Bloody Quest

• Lauren Hunt, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2011

I was terrified, but even then I was under-exaggerating my fear. I cursed my own stupidity for the umpteenth time. I sat down and thought about the past, I figured it might give me some courage.
It all started when the attacks did. At first it was only one or two people, and then they became more frequent. People started to find the bodies in the most unexpected places. I discovered one myself. I remembered going for my daily run. I was only half way when I suddenly tripped and fell. I had groaned and turned around to see what I had fallen over.
My scream had filled the air. Everyone came running, but the minute they reached me they stopped dead. I had tripped over one of the corpses and it was horrendous. The flesh had been ripped in numerous places; the face was so bloody and ripped that I could no longer identify it. Two large holes marked where he had been bitten on the torso and black venom was dripping o the ground.
Later I found out that everyone had either left or nearly never left the house due to fear of being attacked. I also found out that the beast that was killing all these people was in fact an enormous black snake.
A few people had also tried killing the beast shooting it, but its scaly armour protected it form the shots. The Shire Council were taking in any ideas about how to rid the town of the beast.
This is where I came in. I had a passion for old fashioned weapons and when I found out that the snake couldn’t be killed by gunI figured it could be killed by blade. So I suggested it to the Council “Why don’t we send someone to track the snake and stab it while it is sleeping.” They thought it was a brilliant idea and guess who they sent? You got it in one. Me.
So I have been tracking this stupid snake for the past week and it has not been easy, especially because I have a phobia of snakes. So now here I was standing right next to the snakes sleeping body absolutely terrified.
I slowly crept forward, I was panting with fear. I reached its scaly side and I raised my sword, when the snake suddenly launched itself at me. I darted back but the snake was faster. It knocked me over by ramming its head into my side, I saw fangs and I rolled at the last minute. My ribs hurt but I got up anyway. The snake charged, I leapt to the side and cut the snake with my sword. It hissed in fury and spun around. It curled up onto its coils and prepared to strike. I didn’t see it coming.
I screamed as the fangs dug into my flesh. The venom burned inside my blood and as a final attempt to destroy it, I stabbed the snake in the head. I blacked out; the last thing I saw was three baby snakes coming towards me. I had failed.