Voice In The Darkness

• Yuri Han, Grade 4, Cherrybrook Public School
• Short Story
• 2021

Excellence Award in the 'Play On Words 2021' competition

The ash-grey and darkened clouds crept closer voices low, husky and mournful. They were like parchments dotted with black ink. The stormy sea hissed with fury sliding its teal, aqua and cobalt blue body forward. Lightning flew across the pitch-black sky chanting its words of evil omen and doom. Marigold sighed and rested her head against the granite rock. Darkness was moving now. Faster than ever. Conquering innocent citizens and devouring them alive. It was coming.
"Didn't I always tell you..." began Petal looking at her with an awkward expression. But she never got to finish that sentence. A writhing shadow was stalking behind them snarling with anger and hatred. "A Shadow Beast." breathed Marigold heart pounding with fear and fright. She reached inside her navy-blue hiking bag and pulled out a glowing orb that was beaming in pride.
"Well, well," growled the Shadow Beast narrowing its slanted, hazel-coloured eyes at them. "Good to know that those filthy orphans that we were meant to track down were finally found, HERE!"
"We?" asked Petal who was definitely now filled with exploding curiosity.
"She means Dark Fang, Slit Eye, Shadow Breath and Cursed Claw," Marigold explained standing rigid in the spot. There was a moment of painful silence.
"You mean the guards that were meant TO CATCH US WHEN WE ESCAPED FROM THE PRISON?????" Marigold nodded looking extremely anxious and nervous confronting creatures of death. She glanced at Petal who silently whispered back "RUN!!!" The Shadow Beasts gave roars of fury and hissed at them. What were Shadow Beasts' weaknesses? One of the texts she had read in the books before clearly said:
‘Shadow Beasts look rather deadly and frightening and have the fear rate to petrify a young child.
They look like struggling shadows with cloaks as black as night. There has never been anyone who took the cloak off a Shadow Beast for no one dares or wants to see the wretched beast inside. Shadow Beasts the fact you need to know when you have encountered one or many is that they are absolutely terrified of water and will shrink back in fear for when they first touch water they evaporate and are never seen again.’
The ocean! That was the answer to destroy Shadow Beasts.
"Petal, the chances are difficult that we'd survive this but jump into the ocean NOW!" Petal bit her lip and then nodded slowly understanding the complexity of the answer. Marigold could clearly tell that Petal was now extremely bothered, stressed and fretful by the sweaty palms and shaky knees. They paused glancing back looking worried.
"Ha, if the Shadow Beasts are frightening then why couldn't they just dangle the words 'YARRGH I'M ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING'," Petal rasped in a weak and shaky voice. They were falling into doom, like prey lured into a predator's trap. An abyss in the middle of a turbulent, raging storm isn't something you'd survive. After all, they were someone. Or why would they stand out like a voice in the darkness?