Darkness

• Samuel Hui, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

The sun had started to set when Ben checked the time. He had promised his mother that he would be home before dark. Ben wheeled his bike onto the path that would lead him home and started riding.
It was Ben’s birthday and he had been invited to a surprise birthday party at his friend house, but Ben had promised his mother that he would be home before dark because he felt that his mother would have something in store for him.
As Ben rode, he contemplated what his mother would have for him. Maybe it was the new bike he had been asking for. Or maybe it was just a cup of his favourite drink, hot chocolate, that was waiting on the table, steaming, waiting for it to be consumed. Suddenly, a capsule looking figure appeared in the dark, cloudy sky that had smoke trailing behind it. It flew overhead and crashed into the dense forest. Unable to contain his curiosity, he stopped and looked into the newly made clearing. Ben saw a capsule lying in the middle and just as he stepped into the clearing, he thought about the promise that he had made to his mother. I’ll only look at the capsule before going out he thought to himself and headed to the capsule.
An ominous green glow was omitting for the capsule. As Ben slowly walked around the capsule, taking in what he was experiencing in awe and wonder, took out his phone and started the camera. The thought that Ben would be the first person to ever take footage of an extra-terrestrial belonging intrigued Ben. As he recorded, careful not to make a sound, Ben unexpectedly stepped onto a twig which made a loud crunch. Ben winced at the sound. Suddenly, a hooded figure appeared out of the darkness and just as Ben realised this, its black tentacles had already coiled Ben up. He tried to scream, but it only made a muffled sound. As quickly as it came, the figure disappeared with Ben.

Only Ben’s phone that lay on the ground could solve the mystery to his disappearance.