I Fail To Remember - Excerpt From A Short Story By Me

• Hannah Greenland, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2017

I didn’t want to be here. In this dark alley with these dark figures, surrounded by dark buildings and a dark sky. At first, I thought it was a clever idea, following them here, I thought it would be fun. Watching people destroy themselves isn’t fun, it’s terrifying. I have a headache, a bad one and all I want to do is go home. Well, back to the orphanage at least. I knew that the animals surrounding me would hunt their prey and I would have to escape sooner or later. Humans are true animals on the inside, the most destructive ones of all. I decide on sooner. I also decide to run. Fast. Down the alley and along Bell Street, around the corner, past the church and the school, around another corner, past the butcher, round another bend and along Main Street, the only street that was still alive in these late hours of the night. I focus on the gloomy, grey building at the end of the street as my tattered old sneakers carry me along the cold cobblestones, the wind dancing through my chocolate brown hair like a ballerina, my bright green eyes focusing on the target ahead. In a split second, my target changes. For now, standing in front of me, is a boy, not a building, although running into him feels like running into a brick wall. Falling takes forever, as though some unknown force is putting us in slow motion. When we finally hit the ground, a small squeal of pain steals itself my lips.
“You sure know how to greet a guy don’t you Addilyn?” a warm, husky voice breaks the silence.
Calloway. Only he would ask a question like this, right after I’ve bowled him over. He was trying to be kind, but I didn’t need kindness right now, I needed to get back. He was also trying to be a friend but I don’t have friends, I don’t believe in the theory of them. Friends are just enemies in disguise, waiting for the perfect moment to attack, to destroy you from the inside out, to use your trust as a knife, stabbing you in the back with everything you thought you had together. I wouldn’t say I have a hard time trusting people, I’m just extremely careful of who I choose to trust. Which is no one.
“Cal I don’t have time to talk. I have to get back to the orphanage,” I quietly mutter as I get back to my feet and start running again.
Over the fence, up the ladder, through the window. Done. I feel dizzy, very dizzy, as though someone has turned me upside down and spun me in circles a hundred times over. A sharp pain shoots through my body like a bullet and stays there, lodged, it feels like it’s never going to leave.
“Ah,” the pathetic sound flew from my mouth, leaving me sounding as vulnerable as ever.
I am surprised that I can even make a sound, because every breath feels like arrows piercing through my throat, aiming for the words that are struggling to escape. My saliva feels like a bushfire, spreading rapidly around my mouth, leaving a burning sensation wherever it goes. Pain is an understatement. Pain would feel like a hug compared to this. This was different.