Gone

• Raymond Bian, Grade 5, Wattle Grove Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

I ambled to the rusty bridge, my rifle tightly gripped with my rough hands. Small pieces of gravel crunched beneath my muddy, leather boots. My ragged, thin coat lashed around in the air violently. I stared at the tall ruins that once were magnificent skyscrapers. Several giant, gaping craters formed by flaming debris from a bomb covered the city, some still billowing out smoke. I vaguely recalled having a holiday with my family here before all of… this.
The occasional buzzing of a scout drone, made you feel like you were being watched. Everybody’s gone mad, haven’t they? What’s up with all these wars? I continued down the narrow stretch of road, crows darting away at my presence. Some buildings were still alight from debris or explosions. This place would light up like a beacon at night Upon entering the city, multiple dead, leafless trees greeted me. Some were so charred that, if were to throw a pebble at it, it will crumble to a pile of charcoal and ash. Around every corner, there was at least one car that was crushed by a lamp post or something like that.
It took so long and so much to just get halfway. I have been shot, fractured, knocked out and bruised, just to get to my family, because one, single bio-gas bomb could end it all.
I trudged through the tall towering ruins; the occasional corpse was buried under the rubble. Jeez, I kind of feel sad for them. I continued walking down the city, not wary of my surroundings, I managed to scrape my arm on some broken piping. ‘Arrghh!’ I put my hand on the wound to stop it from spewing out blood. I tore off a bit of my shirt sleeve and pressed down on the large cut. Several screams and curses erupted out of my mouth. I wiped the blood off my palm onto my jeans. I scrambled around in my coat pockets until I found a large cloth. It’ll do… I wrapped it around the cut and pulled it tight. More curses came out of my mouth.
I walked out of the building, my hand on my arm. Everything is…gone. Cities, houses and people But I knew there was still hope, even if it was just a sliver. I know my family is still out there- alive.
I heard helicopters hovering around the city and it was turning night time. A motorbike ran through the city and in front of me trying to get away from something. I saw a maelstrom of bullets fly down towards the rider, so I took refuge in a convenience store. He was …dead.
As the helicopters departed, I snuck around to the exit of the city. I tightly gripped my rifle again and changed the magazine.
It’s still a long way to go until I reach California…