Last Breath

• Natasha Irvine, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2013

Isn’t it strange how all things in life can just crumble at the slightest touch of disaster? I suppose when this is happening all you want to do is spend your last moments with those you love. But what if you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye? I guess what I am trying to say is live every moment like it’s your last because you never know when it could be your final breath.

I don’t know when it actually started but I began to notice it about six months ago. Many say that it was some kind of natural disaster. One day I was walking home with my friend Ruby, when we heard an ear-piercing scream. We looked down and saw a little frog struggling to hop. We noticed that a large portion of its back leg was missing; there was a froth substance on what remained. Perhaps a bacterium of some sort was the cause of this.

Unfortunately that wasn’t the end of the madness, as we neared our houses we passed several other animals writhing in pain or worse, dead. It was a horrific sight; I tried to be strong and hide my emotions. Before she could say anything we heard a loud cry, in front of our eyes was a large frog mauling a small helpless terrier. In that moment I knew that those amphibians had somehow turned into a mutant zombie frog.

I had no time to react because the little terrier had sprung back to life with a hungry look in its eyes. It wanted meat and I just happened to be the closest source. I grabbed Ruby and we started to run. Animal corpses were seemingly coming to life. We could hear the snap of jaws right behind us and feel hot breath on our legs but still we kept running.

Trying desperately to catch our breaths we searched for my parents. We found them in my living room and I knew instantly that something was wrong. I saw my older sister and brother huddling close to dad, mum was crying uncontrollably. But where was my younger brother? It was then that I saw his small limp body lying mangled in my father’s arms. He had large bite marks all over his unmoving body. He wasn’t breathing. Seeing him lying there like that filled me with such anger, there was no way that I was going to let this happen again. Something needed to be done.

I don't know what I was thinking as I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the sharpest knife and headed for the door. The sunlight was blinding, I felt a large tug and pain in my side. I placed my hand there and felt something warm and sticky. I felt myself falling down and in the distance I could hear my mum screaming my name. I remember was looking up into the sky, the daylight disappeared into darkness as I took my last breath.