Kangaroo Crash

• Sean Mcerlean, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2014

Kangaroo Crash
I had hit the ground with extreme force. I felt my chest armour hit hard against my body. My helmet slid along the ground, throwing my head all around the place. Then I felt a piercing pain run up my left arm as my elbow bent in the wrong direction. I couldn’t bare the pain as I lay there hoping for my Dad to find me.
It was a cold, wet day with showers of rain coming and going. My Dad had promised to take me out for a motorbike ride after lunch in a forest near our friends place. I ate a cheese sandwich for lunch and grabbed a muesli bar for when I was out riding. I helped Dad load the motorbikes into the trailer and tie them down securely, ready to go.
We arrived at the forest at about twelve o’clock and unloaded the motorbikes. We put on our safety gear and started our bikes to let them warm up. I threw my water bottle, some tools, tape and muesli bar into my backpack, threw it onto my back and clipped the buckles together tightly. Then we jumped onto our bikes and rode through the gate and into the large forest.
I took off in front of Dad and he knew I was trying to race him! He quickly caught up to me and kept speeding past. I changed gears from 3rd to 4th. I realised I was catching him, but at the same time had a feeling that I was starting to lose control of the bike at this speed. Dad heard me catching up so he quickly took off, way out of my reach; I gave up and started to slow down. That was when it happened….
A huge kangaroo bounded out of the bushes about a metre off the ground. I pushed on the brakes hard with my foot, but it was too late. I took the full impact of the kangaroo on my right side and arm. My body was flung over the handle bars of the bike. Everything felt as though it was in slow motion. I was launched head first toward the ground, but it seemed to take forever to get there. As I was being thrown to the ground, I saw my bike hurtling through the air ahead of me. Then I hit the ground in a blur of gravel, sticks and mud.
The pain was excruciating. Every time I took a breath it felt someone was stabbing me with a knife. I tried to take off my armour and jacket, but I couldn’t do it without moving my broken arm. With my left arm I unbuckled my backpack and lay it down under my head like a pillow. My bike’s engine had shut off in the crash. I could hear Dad’s bike riding into the forest further and further away. I thought I had no hope of Dad returning and my arm was feeling worse. What was I going to do?