Unleashed

• Emily Rosenberger , Grade 8, Bundaberg State High School
• Short Story
• 2022

Excellence Award in the 'Unleashed 2022' competition

She wrestles through thick knots of impenetrable steel, fighting for her freedom from the impassable fortress to which she was condemned. The silence shattered the air like a piercing bullet, her resolute mind dousing every contribution to the roaring cacophony outside but that on which her fury would be unleashed. A huge turquoise void stretched above, elevated and vast, as monumental than the very globe itself, whilst she conquered the endless jungle of emerald prongs that rose below her, mighty talons flattening the landscape along with any creature unlucky enough to cross her path. Every fibre is flattened against her body as she stalked closer, the prey clear in her vision. The world froze with her, barely daring to breathe as every attention fixed on the scene.
The pent up ferocity within rumbled in incandescent anticipation to be unleashed. She springs and pounces, crunching her prey skilfully between her jaws as she twists and plummets, landing neatly on the grass below, successful in her hunt.
The crown of her head tilted proudly to the sky, she intonated her elation gleefully to the last rays of the retreating sun.
She was bathed in glory, until suddenly all light was extinguished, leaving only warm, moist walls of pulsating tan flesh and the sensation of being swept high away, far out of control. The mysterious jolting vessel finally slowed to a stop and the world rushed suddenly back to her, so overwhelming that she was initially dazed. The walls cracked and gradually unfurled as if two giant doors were simultaneously coaxed open.
A deafening outcry abruptly split the air. "Mum, MUM! Fluffy just caught A MOSQUITO!!" a child screeched excitedly, much to the irritation of the tiny yellow puffball nestled tentatively between her hands. "Well, well, how did she get out?" the mother mused affectionately. "Go on now, put the chick back in the coop with the others, quickly now, it will be dark soon."
She is unleashed into a sea of downy canary-yellow, little bodies rising and falling in unison as contented cheeps sound gently from the corner of the 'prison'. Engulfed in sleepiness, content, and a satisfied appetite, she dosed in peace, already dreaming up another glorious adventure...