Parasite

• Leah Hatfull, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2020

Bright lights surrounded Sally as she peacefully floated through the space station they were in. Her twin Kyle came from around a sharp corner, rocketing into her. she whacked him in the arm.
“Watch it, that hurt!’’ Sally groaned, then pushed off the wall and zoomed away, ‘’I’m telling mum,’’ she called back. After looking around for her mother, Sally floated into the observation room ahead of Kyle to see her with the guide stargazing. As Sally floated over, she noticed a gleaming light.
‘’Hey what’s that blinking ball over there?’’ she said curiously, approaching her mum. The guide looked at it with concern, then lead us out of the domed room and into a hall. ‘’ma’am we are just going to the shuttle as a precautionary measure, please follow me,’’ as she turned, Kyle rounded the corner. ‘’Kyle, good, come with us,’’ Sally’s mum pulled him over and held onto the twins tightly, leading them along behind Cloe. As the four ran down the endless hallways, a huge beetle-like swarm of insects surrounded Cloe, spitting acid onto her skin. She screamed in agony, and sally pulled Kyle along behind their mother. Upon seeing Cloe’s body, Kyle fainted, falling onto sally’s shoulder. ‘’Hey watch it!’’ Sally snapped at Kyle, then realized his eyes were closed. ‘’Mum! Something’s wrong with Kyle!’’ turning around, she saw Sally struggling to support her brother. ‘’Here let me,’’ she said, holding him over her shoulders. They quickly floated into the last room, opening the airlock to the shuttle. Gently letting Kyle down onto a seat, Sally strapped herself in and looked around. ‘’Wait, where will you go?’’ she asked. Holding back tears, her mum replied, “I’m not coming darling.’’
“What? No, mum you’ll die!’’ sally cried out. Her mum looked at her with sad eyes an turned to shut the door. “I-I won’t go! I’ll stay here with you, please don’t do this!’’ She fixed Sally with a stern look that masked her pain.
“No Sally, you have to take care of Kyle. He won’t know what happened promise me you’ll take care of him!’’ Sally looked up at her mum, anguished. She nodded, letting the tears fall freely off her face. The door closed, and as the shuttle flew away, they locked eyes through a small window. A sad smile formed on her mother’s face as the shuttle erupted into flames. Sally squinted her eyes as the light faded and saw her mother’s limp hand resting against the glass. Mirroring the action, Sally started to sob. She wept, a gut-wrenching cry that stirred her brother. Opening his eyes, he turned Sally to face him. “Sally what happened, where’s mum?’’ She pointed out the window. As he followed her gaze, Kyle saw the lifeless hand. “Oh Sally,’’ he cradled her in his arms as tears began to stream down his cheeks, dripping off his chin. “It wasn’t your fault.’’ She looked up at him and replied, her voice breaking, “I know, but it still hurts."