Survival

• Benjamin Jones, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2019

I peered through the hole in the fence and stared at what lay before me. Tree stumps and bits of bark littered the ground for as far as I could see. In the distance, big yellow machines were parked near a group of trees. People were climbing inside them, starting them up. Their sights were set on the trees. The machines charged at them, crushing whatever grass and small plants were in their path. Animals and birds ran from them before their homes were destroyed. As the reached the first tree, I looked away into my own garden.
The plants and trees stood tall, home to lizards, bugs and birds. The grass was long, offering protection to critters and keeping them hidden. There was no danger of them being put into trouble today. I turned back to the hole in the fence and looked through just in time to see the last tree fall. As I gazed at the land before me, I realised that humans were responsible for all this death and destruction. I felt sick. What was gained from this? Trees provided food and clean air. Without them, we wouldn’t survive.
It was so stupid to cut them down. I took a deep breath and laid down on my back. The worst part about all this? There was nothing I could do. I’m just a kid, nobody would listen to me. Anyway, they were all to busy killing the Earth to care. It really did sound hopeless: we’re murdering the very thing we lived on, but I believed that one day it would get better. We have the resources to do it. We just have to start before it becomes too late.