Escaping The War

• Selena Zhuang, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

Stumbling through the barren field, eyes darting left to right, I suddenly heard the ear piercing shrill of an incoming mortar bomb. We all dived for cover, hoping that we would be the lucky ones. As the deafening sound started to subside, the smell of smoke filled the air. Not daring to open my eyes, I held my breath and scrambled across the field in hope for somewhere to hide. I plunged my head into my muddy uniform and gasped for air. I didn’t want to breathe in any smoke. Then out of nowhere I heard the thud of many soldiers stomping. Trembling, I tried to steady my breath, but it wasn’t working. My heart was jumping in and out of my chest. “Hey! What are you doing?” A soldier shouted.
I broke into a run. As the wind rushed against my face a wave of remorse washed over me reminding myself that I shouldn’t have signed up to fight in this war.
Absent-mindedly flying over a rock, I busted out my pistol and froze in fear. I was surrounded by four of my fellow soldiers pointing life-threatening guns at my head. Would they kill their own teammate? Or would they let me escape?
The biggest one stepped forward and started to talk. I couldn’t concentrate. I started to drift off from the lack of sleep. As his voice floated further away, memories of my family flashed through my mind.
I awoke with tears rolling down my pale face. Just as the soldier finished, the second mortar bomb landed. This was my chance.
Sprinting back across the field, I started gaining speed. I had to catch the next truck delivering food from the city. Building up my confidence, I pretended to march along with a group and leapt onto the truck. I fumbled for a key in a small flap and unlocked the latch. I dived into the truck landing hard on my back. Did the driver notice me?
I took off my uniform to reveal my ripped shirt and torn jeans. The truck came to an abrupt halt causing me to slam face first into the wall. Crawling over to the latch, a searing pain still in my right cheek, I glanced left to right before cautiously climbing out. Suddenly, I spotted a small figure in the distance. It was the same guy that lectured me earlier. He was following me! I bolted for the nearest building and jumped into the elevator.
Finally reaching the top, I noticed I was on a 600 metre tall skyscraper. Standing at the edge of roof I realized I had to choose. I always wondered what it would feel like to die as many feared death. Would I let my mate murder me? Or would I suicide in fear of being shot? I had five seconds. Time was running out. Four seconds. I started hearing a distant voice. Three seconds. It was soft but cold. Two seconds. I couldn’t understand what it was saying. One second. Everything went black...