Undefeated Slayer

• Olivia Lam, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2017

Everything went blank. I opened up my eyes to reassure that it was safe to move. As I slowly crept towards the brown, wooden, creepy door, my heart stopped as I saw the creature with my own poor eyes. My jaws dropped and I stood there tensing every muscle whilst I figured out a way to pass it without making contact. A million emotions and thoughts crossed my mind and heart as my eyes shifted to the beige wooden chest with the lethal weapon just meters away from me. I wondered if it would be powerful enough to distract or even kill that ugly, nasty creature. Another thought crossed my mind once I realised that the monster never came near that powerful chest. It was a completely empty room and the chest was the only object in there so I knew it played a significant role in defeating the ‘Undefeated Slayer’ but how on earth was I meant to get to the chest without distracting it? I rememberer my grandfather reading to me that music is the only thing that would keep the nasty creature asleep. That’s it! My harmonica. A smile drew across and upon my face as I slowly reached deep down in my pocket to grab it.

I hadn’t yet learnt to play it but i knew that any music would cause it to fall asleep so it was worth a try. I held it up to my mouth and tasted and felt the dust fall into my dry, brittle tongue that hadn't been quenched with water for ages. The music just came to me as I played the instrument. Slowly running out of breath, I noticed the creature gradually falling into a deep dark sleep. I knew it was time to approach the chest once it started to snore but the problem was I needed to keep playing it on order to grab the chest lock and solve it which meant I had to do it with one hand. My head was drilled and spinning in as I tried to unlock the chest, considering that I had to complete the task whilst playing the harmonica with my other hand. I was sure that the ‘Undefeated Slayer’ was sound asleep now so I decided to slowly move the piece away from my mouth. Even with two hands, I couldn’t open the stupid lock. I soon noticed a sudden silence but it I didn’t acknowledge it. I soon regretted that after I looked up and saw the large shadow hovering over my tiny, thin body. I wanted to let out a scream but I knew that it would only make it worse. I was stubborn enough to yell anyway. My mum ran into my room and saw me sitting up in distraught. “Did you have a nightmare?”, she asked. I was so speechless I just fell back onto my soft pillow and fell back into a long deep sleep.