Serpent In The Stream

• Ella Connell, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2020

It was eerily quiet as I lay down to sleep. I was starving. I hadn’t been able to catch any fish in the stream lately. Something had been eating them. My younger sister was curled up next to me, her snores were echoing off the walls of the cave.

I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Emily and I am 13 years old. My little sister, Hazel, is only 10. We ran away from home a few months ago when our Mother called us freaks and told us never to come back. Hazel and I are different from other kids. We have magical powers that allow us to control fire and water.

Just as I was beginning to fall asleep, I heard a noise outside. It was not a normal night-time noise, but more of a hiss and then a growl. “Hazel, Hazel, wake up, there’s something outside,” I whispered urgently.
“Huh, what,” Hazel mumbled.
“Hazel get up, there’s something outside.” I urged.
“Alright, alright,” she grumbled.
I helped her to her feet. We crept to the cave’s entrance and peered around the corner. There was a massive fifty-foot monster in the stream. It had the body of a serpent and the head of a dragon. I stifled a scream, but Hazel let out a blood-curdling noise. Realising her mistake, she clamped her hand over her mouth. Too late, the monster had seen us. We turned and ran. Hazel aimed balls of fire and I aimed balls of water the monster to stop it coming after us.
“We need a plan” Hazel screamed.
“Let’s head back to the cave. We’ll be safe for a few minutes while we come up with an idea” I yelled. “On the count of three, run” I urged. I breathed deeply as I willed the water to rise and crash down on the monster. “One, two, three.” I counted and dropped a massive wall of water on the monster. I turned and ran. Once we were in the cave we hid under a ledge.
“What are we going to do?” I asked quietly.
“I have an idea.” Hazel whispered “you cause a distraction so I can sneak out of the cave. Then I’ll climb the old oak tree. On my signal, you blast the monster into the air with a geyser of water and then I can scorch him with fire”
“Sounds dangerous” I exclaimed
“Do you have a better plan?” asked Hazel
“No” I admitted.
“OK, on the count of three. One……two…….three”
I ran to the entrance and created a big wave of water that crashed down on the monster. Hazel ran and shimmied up the tree. When she was safely in the tree, I blasted the monster onto on a geyser of water. Hazel created an enormous ball of fire that scorched the monster. The monster’s lifeless body fell to the ground. We both exhaled as a wave of exhaustion ran over us.