The Creature

• Montana MacFarlane, Grade 7, Marymount Primary School
• Short Story
• 2013

1st in the 'Summertime Fun 2013/2014' competition

I lean against the wall, my heart pounding. I can hear the deep panting of my enemy approaching. I know that I have to keep moving in order to be ahead of it. The monster is one of my worst nightmares. Deadly claws, razor-sharp teeth and hypnotic eyes, it would take down the strongest man in the world. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it.
The mighty roar of the creature shakes me out of my stupor. I race around the corner, looking for a way to escape. To my ultimate despair, it is a dead end. I listen to the slow, heavy footprints of my fate catching up to me.
‘So this is the end,’ a small part of me whispers. I ponder this, wondering if there will be any pain. I’m not a masochist, so I would rather have it end quickly.
‘Stop it!’ the other part of me implores. ‘Search around for something to help you!’ I try to think rationally. What would help me escape? Oh, what a stroke of luck! There is a trapdoor just above my head.
My mind does some quick calculations. Do I have enough time to climb through it before the monster comes? Uh, no. Do I have anything to distract it? Um, not really. Any chance the monster will pass around me? Yeah, right.
So basically, I’m toast.
The creature approaches in a manner like a tiger. It is still lurking in the shadows. I watch it, realising that I’ve never actually seen it. I only know about it from scientist ‘friends’ who have observed it up close.
Its eyes are full of hunger and mischief. It was a look I know very well. My little brother bears it when he plays pranks on me. I look at the trapdoor again. I suppose it is my only hope. The monster pounces, roaring its magnificent roar. I jump straight up into an attic, looking down on the distraught creature. It is circling under me, fuming that I have escaped.
Oh, wow! I just escaped a deadly creature that almost got its paws on me. My body wants to submerge into shock, but I pull it together. I look at the monster again but it has gone back into the shadows. I decide to look around, try to find an exit.
After hours of fruitless searching, I found another trapdoor. I am starving and that makes me careless. I jump straight down without remembering the monster. Uh, oh. I land on the creatures back! First rule of trying to escape something: Don’t land on that something’s back!
The creature throws me off and I land hard on the floor. Ouch! I hurt my little finger…
“Mum! Chester hurt me!” I cry.
“That’s what happens when you play too rough,” she says, coming into the room. She looks at my finger, summarising that I will be perfectly fine.
“I love my dog, Mum,” I say. “We have the best games together!”