I Didn't Mean To Kill Her

• Cara Foley, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2016

I didn’t mean to kill her. I thought if I just gave her some bruises they’d leave me alone. Their cheers still echo through my head as I lay on my bed. It was an ordinary day, the day I was taken. I was walking to school like it was another average Monday morning, when a man jumped from an alleyway and knocked me out. When I woke up I was in an unorganised house. Clothes were all over the floor and a spider on the wall next to my head. “She’s awake” a voice says. I felt a grip on my arm as I was pulled off the bed. My head started throbbing and I couldn’t stand up, so I collapsed back onto the bed. “Look what you’ve done!” said the voice again. “You could have killed her!”. After that everything faded into blackness again.
When I woke up there was no light coming through the barred window. I was pulled off the bed by a strong woman who lead me outside and into a large shed in the backyard. The shed was filled with scary looking people, But in the centre there was one girl who looked as scared and helpless as I did. The crowd parted to let the woman who brought me here and I through. When we were in the centre of the ring the woman let go of her grip on my arm. I thought about making a run for it but quickly changed my mind when I saw the glaring faces of the people around me. The other girl in the ring looked a couple of years younger than me and much smaller. The gang around us suddenly went quiet as the largest man stepped out. “May the best man win!” he said. The crowd then erupted with cheers and they started yelling. “Fight!” they repeated. I had a sudden realisation that the girl opposite me was my opponent. I could see that it was a huge surprise to her as well and I could see that she felt the same way as I did about fighting. But we don’t have a choice. We slowly edge closer to each other. There is no way out. It’s kill or be killed. I make the first move. A small push and she's on the ground. Something comes over me, it could be called an instinct to survive but I know I need to get out of here at any cost. I was fighting like my life depended on it. Maybe it did. I stopped to take a breath and realised what I’d done. There was blood everywhere and the girl was lying on the floor. My head started spinning as I realised what I’d done. My whole world came crashing down and I ran. My feet seemed to know the way as they lead me home. I thundered in the front door and collapsed on my bed. I didn’t mean to kill her....