War

• Liam Fletcher, Grade 5, St John's Lutheran School
• Short Story
• 2021

Excellence Award in the 'The Write Note 2021' competition

Crack! Crack! The crackling of gunfire exploded in my ears. I dove for cover, hoping to escape the deadly bullets. A huge, sharp pain blossomed up in my hip, too late.
My name is Arthur, I am 19 and have been shipped off to fight in the first world war. I come from Tasmania, Australia and I enlisted against my parent’s orders. Now, back to the story.
I looked down at the wound in my leg. It was red and puffy, and blood was oozing down my knee. I turned and begun to limp off towards the Australian camp. I heard the screams of dying soldiers all around me, feebly trying to call for help. Then, suddenly, a huge black horse cantered out of the mist and came to a stop beside me. An enemy soldier pointed his pistol down at me, the barrel directed at my head. I gulped.
“Get down!” The soldier bellowed.
I lay down on the ground, holding my hands above my head. The wound in my hip screamed in protest. I felt the cold touch of a pistol against the back of my head. The soldier knelt down beside me, so close I could feel his hot breath against my neck. Bang! All of a sudden, there was no hard touch on my head. There was no more of his hot breath on my neck. Slowly and carefully, I stood up and turned around. There was the enemy soldier down at me feet, lying motionless and not breathing. I looked around. Far in the distance, I saw a sharpshooter, clad in red, which was Australia’s colour. I saw him nod once at me, then he turned and walked away.
I staggered back to my camp, with my hurt hip causing me to walk with quite a jerky, unnatural motion. Soon, I reached the camp and was greeted by two distressed and worried nurses. I hobbled over to them, my sight fading rapidly. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was one of the nurses say, “I think this one might have to go home.”
A few days later, I woke up. I found myself back home, in my town’s hospital. I looked around. There, standing near me with a worried look on both their faces, were my parents. “Well, I’m back.” I said.
The End