Heaven Or Hell

• Chloe Barnett, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2021

“I didn’t mean to kill him”…. “It was an accident!” “I thought he was someone else!” I said as my voice shook. The boy lay on the floor, knife in his chest, blood dripping everywhere. His eyes flickered shut. Everyone stood around the body that was covered in blood staring in awe. No one knew what to do, where he came from or who he was. There was no saving him now.
“Wha- Where am I?” he said in a panic-stricken voice. He stood up and looked around him. There was nothing for miles except white fluffy clouds. The boy was scared for his life, he didn’t know where he was, how he got there or how he would get back to the Shopping Centre. The boy gasped. “Help, someone HELP!” His voice shook as he spoke. “Please.” He muttered, dropping to his knees. A warm hand suddenly grabbed his left shoulder. The boy let out a little squeak. “It’s ok, you can stop yelling and calm down young man” came an unfamiliar voice from behind him. He turned around as fast as a speeding bullet to suddenly see a tall man towering over him. “W-who are y-y-you?” the boy asked. “I am the great protector of angels here in Heaven.” The man’s voice was deep, and eerie. The boy was lost for words. He scanned his surroundings one more time then tried to analyse what the man said. His words replayed over and over in the boys mind until, “Wait, HEAVEN?” the boy asked alarmed. “Yes, heaven, you’re not alive anymore.” As the boy heard these words, he burst into tears. The man saw his tears and tried comforting him. “Don’t worry, you will love it here, you will make so many friends.” At the time the boy was only 11 years of age. He didn’t know what to think. He suddenly dropped to the ground. He had fainted.
He blinked his eyes as he slowly took in his surroundings. Cautiously, he sat up. His hands touched the soft red velvet bed he was sitting on. The man was sitting at the end of the bed. He spoke, “You are in my office right now, please don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you, I’m here to help you. I have called someone in to show you around and introduce you to everyone.” The boy gulped. “O-ok.” The man smiled and the boy felt a little better. “By the way, what’s your name?” The boy replied with, “My name is Oliver.” Another kid that looked around Oliver’s age walked through the doors. “Hi, I’m William or Will for short.” The kid said with pride. “Cool name, I’m Oliver, but you can call me Ollie if you like.” “Hi Ollie.” The boys smiled at each other. “William is going to show you around and introduce you to some people, ok?” “Ok.” Ollie said, happy.
For the next hour, Will and Ollie walked around meeting new people and seeing cool places. Ollie had never been to a place like this in his life, ever. It was amazing. Ollie had made lots of new friends, he was feeling happy. But sometimes, he wondered what was happening with his past life. For a long time it consumed most of his thoughts. Until one day…. Ollie woke up to the sound of screaming. Will burst through the door of his cabin. “We need to go, now.”