Echos In The Distance

• Lawin Hamaali, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2022

The chilly weather plunges onto me as I drift through the snowy landscape. You can physically appetite drops of snow going through your mouth as each drop deep-freezes you little by little, leisurely. Echos diverge in the distances of unspecified forests that are to be discovered by unknown people, mist starts coming towards you it’s so close you can get a whiff of it. Crystals start constructing on trees as they tingle into your ears like a bell ringing. You're anguished and eager to leave this deserted place, but when you see slaughtered bodies scattered around you, you realize there’s no hope for existence. Instead, you die. Every human that’s come here hasn't survived, well at least for a while!

I ran, I heard a voice say ‘For a while!’ thunderously. I sprinted to the old grubby Barnhouse with my mate Kai on my side, my ears felt half death from all of this venture. There were substantial amounts of rain and fog collapsing upon us. It was so dense we were basically blind in the forest. Then in a split second, I hear a gunshot, then I turn to my friend Kai who had already plunged into the ground to his fate. But his last few words were surprising and desperate g-go now Paul. I couldn’t just sprint away, but I could hear the screeching of the echo ‘You will be next to die soon, child.' I cried I whined, I sobbed while I shouted at Kai to stand up…