The Hunters

• Milly Noonan, Grade 4, St Joseph's School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

The hunters

Shots rang out, the sound reverberating all around me. Up above, my friends clambered trying to escape the pending danger. My baby’s nails were digging into my neck as she screeched in terror. I had to protect her. Bullets whistled through the air, one sailed so close I could feel it graze my skin. Suddenly, I felt something rip through my left arm. Throbbing pain pulsated through me. I crashed towards the ground. Then everything went silent.

Slowly, I started to wake. My eyes blurred, my head dizzy. I cautiously sat up to find my baby gone. I felt sadness flow through me, as warm tears rolled down my face. A loud ear piercing scream left me as I collapsed in a heap. I still had hope my baby was alive. I just had to search. I stood up, and wandered around, searching for my baby. I struggled up a high tree to have a good view of the whole forest. There was still no sign of her. I felt my heart sink in my chest. I began to start thinking I was never going to see her again. My eyes filled with warm tears, as I swung out of the tree. Images of my baby kept flashing back into my mind. I didn’t think I was going to make it through a day without her. The hunters should have just killed me, I thought.

As I fell to the ground I lay there thinking where my baby might be. My stomach lurched it felt as if it was tied in a knot. I began to limp away, inspecting every tree to try and find her, I couldn’t spot her anywhere. I heard the blurred noise of an engine in the distance I struggled toward it. I wasn’t quick enough. It suddenly stopped and all I heard was leaves rustling in the breeze. Once again I cried, staggering pain gushed through my body, why did the hunters have to take my baby? I thought. She was still alive, I knew it. I couldn’t give up now. I found myself somewhere I’d never been before I'd lost my bearings. How was I going to find my baby now? I was tired, weak and sweaty still nothing was getting in my way I was determined. To me my baby was as precious as gold, and if finding her meant risking my life then so be it. I was going to get her back no matter what it takes.