Fear

• Holly Melellan, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2012

Bang! The explosions in the distance made yet another baby in the group of people wail in confusion. The crowd of women and children gathering by the side of the town hall sent a chill up my spine. Apprehension crept up my throat, looking for a weak spot in my mind to penetrate. General Toovey and his warriors gallantly waved farewell. They were so proud, so confident that neither their body nor their pride would be damaged at the war. Very sure that they would return to see their families again. Though I had a small niggling feeling that neither I, nor the women would ever see them again.

We rode into the distance, behind the uninviting mountains, disappearing from view.
Soon, when the blanket of darkness and night had fallen around us, Toovey called us all over and asked me why I was so quiet. When I didn’t reply, he sighed and looked at the dark, crippled mountains ahead of us. The explosions were still ringing in my ears when they ceased to merely the sound of a slight breeze. That unknown danger was behind there, waiting like a cat hiding in the shadows, about to pounce on some poor, innocent creature. And at the moment, that creature is the whole troupe of warriors, about to attack the city of Tril-liom.

We had crossed the borders of the mountain with great caution and Toovey sent the scouts to the top of the mountain hindering our path, on the lookout for Tri-liom spies. I moved off the pathway and into the pine forest on the eastern side. I was not fortunate enough to ride horseback, so I hid behind a tree as shouts rang through the air like bells. Obviously the General had conducted a head count and when the number had been short had conducted a name call.
The air grew thick and frantic as men searched for me. I climbed up a tree and hid there until they decided that I wasn’t worth the search. I waited for a while until I climbed higher and saw a magnificent bird high in the sky. I watched it come down and suddenly it picked me up in a swoop. I held on for dear life as it whisked me through the air. Down below me I saw my village’s troupe of soldiers fleeing something. But what?
All at once, I saw smoky figures chasing the men. They were terrifying, with long, claw-shaped talons and sharp, knife-like teeth. The warriors scattered like seeds running through the pine forests fleeing the creatures. I knew that they were gong to be safe, but we would not see them again. The bird looked at me and suddenly I knew. I knew that the monsters were called carnelians and I knew that they were coming to attack the village. I also knew that I was the only person that could stop these Carnelians. And stop them I did.