Dark Night

• Natalie Kretzschmar, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

the moon illuminated the night as i trudged through the forest. i kicked my heels of into a bush not really caring how many weekends they had cost me, i would find them again in the morning.i continued my walk on through the forest when i had sliced my foot on a rock as i stumbled blindly forwards.

i hesitated to stop but decided to keep moving untill i had reached 'The Money Mans Hand'. i walked for what seemed like hours but would count as mere minutes before i reached the clearing. i stumbled to the tree and sat beneath its branches.

when i was little my friend and i would come here for picnicks and found the tree in the midsts of the clearing.

I examined my foot and found a big wound dripping with blood. i fished through the contence of my handbag using my phone as light and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a scarf. i climbed up to the palm of the tree and sat down.

I recounted how my friend came up with
with the name because it looked so much like a hand reaching out of the ground. we had put our left over change in the palm of the tree and forgot about it so when we came back years later the tree grew around it making it impossible to remove the money.

i started to clean the wound on my foot when i heared a rustling from above, i looked up. Goose bumps rippled over my skin as the shadows revealed nothing above. i tied the scarf aroungd my foot and was about to continue my walk when a shadow fell infront of me.

i darted back in surprise and it moved closer. the light from my phone revealed a face. a man to be exact, his mouth was stained red and his eyes the same colour.

i stared at him with surprise and curiosity as he stalked closer,my body froze with fear. he stood infront of me, i stare at him. i jumped when he dissapeared and i then found myself in his arms.

my breath quickened as he snapped my head bach with an icy cold hand, revealing my neck.my heart raced and i shivered but then, he attacked.