A Close Encounter

• Arvindhranath Pathmanathan, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2022

At 6:00 p.m. After our music lesson was over, Aaron and I started our trek back home across the woods. My head was filled with a cold fear, like something out of a horror film. The crunching of dry leaves could be heard all the way across the still woodland. The farther we went, the quieter and darker it became. The sun was obscured by clouds, and little light streamed through the trees, making hope vanish. Aaron and I walked close together, pausing every few metres to glance around. Then, out of nowhere, a pair of blazing red eyes peered out from between the tree trunks at us. Aaron came to a complete halt. His face had lost its colour. I felt a shiver run down my spine. My legs quivered as I trembled with fear. We stood on the ledge, praying that what we had seen would vanish. The pair of eyes, on the other hand, became larger and brighter, and we discovered, to our horror, that whatever the eyes belonged to was slowly coming our way, prepared to pounce. Our breath stopped. It hissed at us, exposing its razor-sharp fangs. The corner of its lips was glistening with saliva, and blood had stained its fur. Aaron snatched my hand. "Let's go!" he said. We turned back and fled as fast as we could. As lizards and squirrels scurried around us, we disregarded the rustle of leaves. As a steady drizzle began, we didn't even notice the first drop of rain. We ran without looking back. We finally came to a halt and dropped to the ground, drained of breath. I peered out briefly to see what the horrible nightmare that was after us was trying to chase us to our last breath. It was vicious as a lion, swift as a cheetah, and ugly as a beast, but it never stopped pursuing us. It had already disappeared into the ethereal calm of the woodland before I could take another glance. I nudged Aaron, who was panting profusely, and informed him that we could slow down and take a break. We decided to call it a day and depart the wilderness. We didn't want to run into the unknown creature again, and the rain was pouring down. We could hear the squeals and screeches of the things in the forest as we made our way out. Something must be going on in the woods. A tremendous growl could be heard behind us. We stood in fear. This beast will not give up looking for us. Aaron had a secret that I was unaware of as we fled down the sidewalk and hid in a shrub on the front lawn of Uncle John's house. There was a moment of stillness. There was a loud growl that could have led to a close encounter.