Halfling

• Jordi Ammunson, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2011

A shiver went down my spine, there was something there, something behind me, something following me but I didn’t know what. I was alone in a dark ally way, or was I, I could feel eyes watching me, was I safe, I don’t know, I wasn’t sure of anything at the moment.

I had finally come out to the streets where everyone was, I felt more safe and secure out here but something was still there. I felt breath on my neck. I turned around slowly, hesitantly, hoping that no one was there. No one was there, I must have just been imagining it but I could still feel it. I walked quickly so I wouldn’t miss my train but something grabbed me and pulled me into the shadows. I struggled and struggled but then a voice said,
“Stop, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m here to protect you”.
I stopped struggling and let the stranger pull me away from the crowd and into the darkness.

He finally let me go, I turned around, I could just make out a line of people but not all of them looked like people. There was a resemblance of man with horns sticking out of his head and what seemed to be a woman with needle sharp teeth. I frantically searched through my bag for my phone so I could use the light to get a better look at these strange figures. I finally found it and as soon as I pulled it out someone hit it out of my hand. I turned around; He stood there, the man who had brought me here. I could see him clearly because he held a lighter in front of his face, he had a square jaw line, a masculine structure and his hair was dark, short and spiked up into a Mohawk. He came close to my ear and whispered,
“ Your safe with us, your like us”.
I started backing away but another man grabbed me.
“What are you?” I said. I was scared but curious.
“ We are Halflings like you”.
“ Halflings of what?”

I wish I hadn’t of asked that question because nothing would have prepared me for what came next. Then the man that brought me here turned me around and put his lighter near the others, I could see it now, they were demons, well half demons anyway, but I can’t be one of them.
“Yes you can be” said the man.
Had he read my thoughts?
“ Yes I did read your thoughts and that’s only one of the things I can do, we are all half human half demon, that’s why you’re an orphan, your mother wouldn’t have survived giving birth to you and your father wouldn’t have stayed, we aren’t normal you aren’t normal, I know you can feel it, you’ve never felt normal”.
It was true, I always have felt different but I can’t be half demon, it’s just not like me.

I ran as fast as I could, I’m not like them, I can’t be. Then I felt pain and I fell to the ground. The man picked me up and said to me,
“Will you not learn, you can’t run away from what you are, when people find out they won’t be nice, you are safe with us, we are your family.”