Happy New Year

• Rebecca Purcell, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2012

From a backstreet alley, a shape emerged like a monster awoken for its midnight snack. It was a shape never seen before and too horrifying to describe. It began to stumble out of the depths of the alley and make its frightening way towards me. Fear and desperation took over the numbness of my legs as I began stagger backwards.
This turned to a run. The clock loomed in the night sky, its moon face a guardian for everyone. It is the attention grabbing item on this cold night, where the only thing that matters is that midnight dong. As I took my eyes of the trophy, ticking like an active bomb, I saw it.

As I rounded the bend a heavy breathing began to flow down my back. Every hair stood straight and my heart missed a beat as I felt the breath get warmer and warmer. Running up the main street I expected safety in numbers because of this inspirational date, but at only a few minutes past the much anticipated midnight, the main street had become a ghost town. I was clueless, frightened and could see the chance of surviving getting slimmer and slimmer. More and more bends took their toll on my legs though did not make one bit of a difference to my pursuer. I was too afraid to look back and too exhausted to stop and risk not being able to start again.
Suddenly a rock, a crack, an unidentifiable bump in the cement path, caused me to stumble and fall.
It was the end.
I felt its claws and ice cold hands rap themselves around my scrawny ankles. As much as I pleaded and cried it continued to drag me backwards.
I looked at it.
Its yellow beady eyes stared back at me, its mouth drooling at the thought of biting my limbs and chewing my bones. I could swear it smiled, it teeth protruding like blades on a blood spattered chainsaw, as it murmured in a deep grotesque voice “Happy New Year!”