I Ran, Getting Faster And Faster.

• Zoe Jones, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2013

I ran, getting faster and faster, every second but it was not enough. They were gaining on me. The men, they came out of nowhere and chased me out of the village. Every time I got faster, they got twice as fast. The thing that made it worse was the forest was getting thicker and thicker.
The men were almost next to me as we approached a bridge. It was only a small bridge, barely wide enough for one person, but it was my escape. As I ran over the bridge I heard a loud bang and felt a strange tingling go through my body but I did not stop to think. I slowed down a bit when I realised the only noise I could hear was the patter of my own two feet, no other noise. I stopped completely when I could not see the bridge anymore and listened. Listened for any noise but all I could hear was my own breathing, the beat of my heart and the blow of the soft wind. It all felt so familiar though, like I had been there before. It had the same big, tall old trees as the ones in the forest behind my house. The same gloomy light, even the same soft wind that seems to whisper to you as it blows through the forest. I started walking and found myself at a clearing. It did not feel right; it was all the same as my village. The same paddocks of cows and wheat, the small huts we all slept in, even the soft hum of the small bugs resting in the grass.
It was my village!
As I approached my family hut, I saw my mother crouched on the floor crying and softly whispering “She is gone. She is gone!” I ran up to her and tried to tell her I was there but I could not speak. So instead I tried to place my arm on her shoulder, but my hand went straight through and she did not even twitch! I even tried to write in the dust with my finger but the words would not form. It was like I was invisible, like I wasn’t even there.
I was scared so scared. All I could do was run, run fast, faster than I had ever run before. I ran back through the forest, and back over the bridge, until I saw the village, this time from the other side. I could see my father this time, and he was by my favourite tree, crying. I ran to give him a hug but I ran right through him. I then sat down at the base of the tree and cried myself to sleep.
When I woke I could do nothing but cry. My family was crowded around the tree placing flowers at the base. This was all I could take. I slowly climbed the tree and…