Fear

• Kathryn Rendulic, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2019

Fear was ruthless and unforgiving. It was inevitable. It could make even the bravest warriors cower. It was exactly what I was running from. It was hunting me.
An ominous group of shadowy, distorted monsters lumbered swiftly towards me. With deformed, ugly, talon-like feet scraping violently against concrete, they attempted to engulf my defenceless mind in an eternal mist of terror and hopeless despair.
This time, they had chosen to take the form of three pitch-black, ragged wolves. Their pupilless, soul-prying, blood-red eyes shone eerily, seeming to burn into my soul. Though their upper half seemed vaguely normal, their legs were bent unnaturally and their feet were more like those of a hawk. A subtle shroud of dark fog swirled around them.
I could sense them inching ever-closer, the immediate threat of defeat materialised unpleasantly in the freezing night air. They crept closer, until I could feel their rattling acrid breath, unsettlingly warm and pungent, spine-chilling against the back of my bare neck. The foul scent made me cringe, unsuppressed disgust playing across my lips.
The beasts craved something that they so severely lacked. Something that I possessed. Hope. Even as I reminded myself that it would remain, I could feel it dissipating from my steadily loosening grip, to be forever lost in the tyrannical claws of the enemy.
It took all of my willpower not to give up. I longed for the days when the monsters were nothing but mere shadows, lurking peacefully at the back of my mind. It had all been so long ago...
I continued to race hurriedly through the irreversibly darkened city. Or did it even deserve the title of a civilized place anymore? Could an abandoned ghost town, dimly lit by a faltering moon really be proclaimed as a city? It was run down, freezing and repulsively uninviting, inhabited only by the ruthless creatures that existed purely to torment all who were unfortunate enough to stray into their path.
The creatures that were steadily gaining speed… the creatures that would soon have me captured in their bleak, depressing grip… Doomed… the one word with the uncanny ability to perfectly sum up my situation.
My physical state began to deteriorate as a wave of exhaustion washed over me. My legs burned, silently begging me to give them a rest. Every muscle in my body ached, crying out in agony. The realisation that I could not keep up with my current pace for much longer alarmed me. A flurry of worries fought chaotically inside of my mind though I was able to take some small comfort from the constant, ever familiar clicks of my black leather boots as they hit the sidewalk rhythmically.
As if they could sense that victory was close, the monsters let out ear-piercing shrieks of anticipation and pure, raw delight.
My glassy eyes watered at the thought of giving in. Would I really drift into the chilling embrace of fear?