Making Me Believe

• Ava Christie, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2017

My hair is flying as I fly though the undergrowth. My heart is thumping louder than ever before. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through me. I hear foot fall behind me and I surge forward desperately. It’s no use, the footsteps pursuing me are growing louder. They’re gaining on me. I feel arms suddenly grabbing from behind, tackling me. I roll over and over on the ground. I detangle myself and scramble to my feet.
“Ok, you win, again.” I say to a tall, sandy-haired boy who had pulled himself up a second after I did.
“Come on, admit it, I’m faster than you,” Charlie said, his voice had a slightly smug edge to it. “You’re getting harder to catch though, especially for a girl.” he added with a smirk. We flop down on the grass in a small clearing, under a large jungle tree.

Charlie and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. We are both growing up in the jungle outskirts of Congo, Africa. Suddenly the sound of a horn rouses us from our daydreaming.
“Lunch time already?” mutters Charlie, as we jump to our feet. We start running swiftly back the way we had come. As soon as Charlie and I reached the town we immediately knew something wasn’t right.
“Oh, no.” Charlie voiced just what I was thinking.

My mother confirmed my suspicions by ushering us inside the main hut. This meant another person had gone missing. For the past three weeks five people had gone off to collect food or visit a friend and they hadn’t come back. No one had been able to find the reason for this.
“Who’s gone this time?” I ask Nyanya. She's my grandmother, and she can be very strict.
“Don’t ask questions!” she snapped in reply. That was the guide to a quiet life in the village. Just keep your head down and your mouth shut.
“Alright everyone, quiet please.” Babu said over the noise. “I regret to inform you that another had disappeared from our midst. This person was a father, a brother, a son and a friend. He goes by the name of Ryder Blade. We will be sending out a few more search parties to try and recover the lost.” my grandfather turned away from everyone.
Ryder Blade was my father.

“Ma, please let me go he’s my father!” I pleaded.
“You are too young! You are not going anywhere of the sort!” my mother could be stubborn when she wanted to be. I ran off angry that no one would listen.
“Ok, here’s the plan.” I said to Charlie when he caught up with me. “We run.”