Kids Of War

• Isabella Maddison, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2016

Dark times were upon us. Since war began, food has been scarce. At school, our new teacher Monsieur Aurick Audwine hung a picture of Adolf Hitler in the classroom. Every morning we have to come in and salute to it, if we don’t it is seen as a sign of descent and we are at risk of being taken to a concentration camp.
His name is supposed to mean great and noble leader, but we call him old wet dog; behind his back of course. I may as well just live on the street since the soldiers practically tore my house to shreds. But if any soldiers find you on the street, they shoot you right there, right then, on the spot.
My little sister Emily walks everywhere with this little cuddly toy, I don’t see what she sees in it. Ma said that we are going to a refugee camp, it’s supposed to be safer than here. The next day we started to pack, I didn’t have a lot left but I packed what looked helpful. I could hear Emily softly singing the song my papa used to sing to us before we went to sleep. Ma said I could carry the food. Emily looked a little left out so we got her to carry the blanket.
The next day we set off, we had to go after school so we would have the whole night before they sent a search party. The town has a huge gate around the edge of the forest so no one can escape. I found my old ladder I made a few years back, it looked a bit rickety so I decided to go first. As I climbed, I felt the cool breeze hit me, thoughts rushed through my head. Memories, happy ones, sad ones, some I just couldn’t catch, but I had to brush them aside for now. Once we were over the gate, there was no turning back. The forest was like a jungle in the fact that it was dark and soulless. I felt like curling up into a ball and crying but I can’t show how scared I am. So many shadows; were they chasing me? We were all alone in this dark and mysterious nightmare… Or were we?