B.E.N.

• Hamish Utharntharm, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2018

The ground was covered in a thick layer of damp leaves; there was an eerie blanket of grey fog slithering its way through the forest floor. There were footsteps, loud footsteps, ones that sent chills down your back, ones that were getting closer and closer until they stopped, right in front of Ben.

Ben peeked his head out of the hollowed-out tree where he was hiding trying to take a glance at his pursuer. From what Ben had seen, the man chasing him was plump with a sub machine gun slung around his shoulder. Ben stood no chance against the man, he wasn’t armed and there was nothing around which could help him. In other words he was dead.

Luckily, the man trudged off leaving Ben in his tree. Trying not to make a sound, Ben climbed out of the hollow and snuck towards the man. This was suicide because Ben didn’t have anything, but the man had a fully loaded gun. Ben picked up a medium-sized rock and pegged it as hard as he could at the man.

The rock ricocheted off his head with a metallic “ding” then all hell broke lose. The man transformed into a turret with the gun on top. “He’s a robot?!”, Ben couldn’t help to scream. Suddenly, circles of the ground came up revealing even more deadly turrets and branches of trees fell down on hinges, showing even more guns. Ben was surrounded by guns, guns and more guns, all aiming at him. “BOOM” all the guns let loose putting millions of rounds into him. When everything settled down there was a puddle of blood and flesh lying on the ground. Ben was well… OBLITERATED.

The society of robots was overjoyed to hear that the BIOHAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NUISANCE, aka BEN, was dead.