Old Friend

• Jessica Bateup, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2015

"Do you want to go for a walk boy?" He asked his grizzled dog politely, as if his howls could talk back at him. He opens the corroded gate, and enters the home of an old friend. He softly straps the collar around his dopey neck, and snatches the lead from the ground. He paddled nervously out into the dark, gloomy night, knowing that he had just left his safe zone for good.

His pup was terrified, and tried anything to get his owner's attention. He dragged his ruthless body along the sticks and stones of the earth wanting to be noticed.
"Oi!! Stop it buster. I'm just as scared as you are, but I need to keep my health up." Suddenly, he was interrupted by a snap and crunch that went off behind him. He glanced back into the night, but only saw nothing. He felt the leash descend to the cold, solid ground and finally realised...

He was all alone!

He heard the wails of his dog getting louder and as he got closer and closer to the forever woods. He couldn't leave his family behind, even if it was only a dusty, rugged, clump of fur that just sits around all day. The wind whispered to him as it swayed through the trees, and the leaves crunched beneath his feet, as he crept slowly inside of that loathsome place, with his heart pounding faster than ever before. As he wondered through his worst nightmare, with his eyes wide open to find his long lasting friend, he finally found light. He went towards the lamp to find his dog... Dead!?

"I don't understand," He grieved. "Who would do this?" Tears dashed down his silk face, then making a small splash as it lands heavily on the brown, dried-up grass and dirt, below him. He looked up and saw that he was at a house. It looked revolting! Moss, mushrooms!
'Absolutely nothing like my house' He mumbled to himself, still resting his hands on his once alive.
He just stared at it for a few minutes, listening and waiting for something to happen, as if he new something would happen. He knelt on one knee, stood up and started walking towards the big chunk of broken wood, as if he were hypnotised by the lamp he had seen before.

He jaunted up the crippled staircase to doom and knocked at the splinted door, totally forgetting about his loss. As he hammered the door with his fist, it creaked open scowling, just enough to see what was inside. He took the risk... He went in!

Blood was dripping amongst the cracks in the walls, but what stood out the most to him, was a cracked mirror, just dangling there, waiting for something. He took a glanced through it, and saw a girl in background of his reflection. He turned around to see... But she was gone! He turned back to the mirror and... He was never seen again.