Danger

• Najah Mohamed Ajwath, Grade 6, Blaxcell Street Public School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

Holly plunged into the pit, her screams drowned out by the roaring of the fire directly below her. The girl gazed upwards at the rough ceiling and sent a silent message to her starved family. I hope that they survive, she thought. There was no-one, no-one that could help her now. The rebellion had been overcome, and there she was, falling to her death. Holly hit herself for being so careless, and for not suspecting the one-eyed man next door. She simply gave up hope and fell, her long, curly dark hair trailing behind her.
Suddenly, Holly froze. In mid-air. She glanced around her, but there was no rope or device attached to her. Holly seemed to be suspended in the air, with her slender legs dangling just above the flames. I wish I could get out of here, she muttered to herself, before this fire roasts me alive. She shot upward and was nearly out of the pit when she realized that she had been flying herself! Holly laughed, her heart filled with the ecstasy of flying, and zoomed out of the deserted warehouse. Little did she know what lay behind her.
A gleaming dagger sailed through the air, and embedded itself in Holly’s back. She cried out in pain and agony and spun around to face her attacker. Clad in black, he stood with pride and arrogance. One beady eye peered out from a face shrouded in darkness. Purple with rage, she roared, pulled the dagger out of her throbbing back, and attacked the slim figure.
The man parried the thrust and fought with ease. After a few minutes of intense fencing, Holly won and snatched his gold knife from him. “Don’t you ever threaten my family again. Am I understood?” she said, her voice dangerously soft. The man nodded once and fled from the minute area in which they had fought. Holly hollered insults after him and flew away.
Holly walked to the woods that had always been a part of her, deep in thought. The men would have left by now, they would be seeking their defeated leader. She knew that they would never be completely safe, but they could relax peacefully for now. She sighed. “There really is no end to danger,” Holly thought.