The Man In Black

• Anna Walker, Grade 4, Gabbinbar State School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

The ground trembled and the ceiling was collapsing around me. The earthquake grew angrier and shook wildly, enough to force me to the floor.
“Lisa!” I barely heard my dad’s dying screams calling for me from outside.
A large split broke open in the ground, the inside twinkling an aqua blue. I felt as if an invisible rope was tugging and pulling me towards the crack. My eyes blurred and I found myself falling metres into the ground. The invisible rope had pulled me in. The light was so incredibly blinding that I had to shut my eyes tightly and pull my shirt over my face to block out the light. Suddenly my tail bone throbbed and ached, I had hit the bottom of what seemed like an endless hole of nothing but blinding light. I uncovered my face and opened my eyes. A long corridor with stone walls and rivers of lava were everywhere. The lava dripped out of the walls and the ground was covered in crispy, white snow. I walked around the corridor for a long time until I froze. A prickly weed was grasping at my ankles, making its way up to my hips, my stomach, my neck. I gritted my teeth and gasped for breath, the weed curled its way onto my lips, covering my mouth and my nose. I couldn’t breathe. The weed had me locked still and dying for breath when I heard a squeal come from the weed. My ankles broke free, my hips, my face. I could move again. The feeling of being trapped and encased by a grasping, squiggling creature felt petrifying.
A sword lay on the floor in front of me, somebody had cut me free but who was it? I walked through the corridors, almost tripping over a few times and once I actually did fall over and I split my left hand open. The pain burned and throbbed but I kept moving. A beastly, wild dog stood in front of me, teeth chomping and drooling. His fur was brown and nose was dead black. There was nothing more absolutely terrifying than that horrible thing standing in front of my eyes. I think I almost cried at that moment, the dog charged towards me and held me by my shirt with its large fangs. The dog through me up into the air, making me flip and fly all over the place. I landed straight in the dog’s mouth, his tong was terribly gooey and slimy, I clenched my fists and beat at the sides of the dog’s mouth until I wore out. I gave up at that point, goodbye dear world. Then everything stopped, the dog didn’t move or breathe. A stick was opening up his jaw. A tall dark skinned man stood at the opening of his mouth. He held out his hand to grab mine, I grabbed his hand.
My world was spinning.