Saturday

• Alisha Griffiths, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2013

It wasn’t like I was going to hurt anyone. Saturday was just like any other day, lonely, bored and hungry. The water was deep and inviting and as usual I played alone. Fond memories of playing together with others made me sad, as one by one they mysteriously disappeared. I caught the occasional tiny creature to ease my hunger but I knew another source of food was needed soon. Food was plentiful nearer the shore but I remember the warnings for the forbidden zone. I mustn’t go! But perhaps just this once as no-one else was around. Wrestling with my conscience, a juicy fish rushed past me, fat silver and shiny. It smelled like heaven! It darted away so I chased it with purpose. As I move towards my prey the water seemed to get uncomfortably warmer. Hunger always gets me into trouble I thought as I’m consumed by an uneasy feeling. The fish disappears as I notice stick like objects moving gracefully in the chaotic sea, they smell like flesh. So hungry, so tempted, as food driven thoughts race around my head, I turned and accidentally entered the forbidden place.
Above me I heard a thunderous sound I never want to hear again. A piercing sound that rushed through the air sending shock waves into the water. I’m trying to head back but the currents are too strong and they’re pulling me. I’m trying not to make too much fuss in case they see me.
A dark shadow hovers and circles above me. The down force of pressure causes ripples on the surface of the sea, madly bobbing me in the water up and down. Now I’m scared. What’s going to happen? Am I going to get eaten? All I can taste is the salty water gushing in my mouth. I know others have never returned from this place. The sound gets louder. I start to panic. The human stick like objects move more violently now as I’m moving into shallow water.
I’m confused and scared. The noise bellows in my head like an electrical storm. The water seems to fall from my fin, feeling dry and warm. A wave washes over my body like a shoal of fish protecting me from the enemy above. Suddenly a terrifying panic strikes me out of the blue. I must try to turn back but it’s too late. Feeling a razor sharp excruciating pain in my side it continues gnawing at me, throbbing and pulsing. The water turns red, swirling to the surface like a whirlwind. Drifting into danger as every wave pushes me closer to the shore. As I frantically flip my head and tail in a race to survive, waves continue to batter my defenseless body.
Suddenly it’s peaceful and quiet, everything becomes still, I feel a calmness within.
A silence.
Then darkness.