Brian's Journal

• Benjamin Nguyen, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2022

Tuesday 28/14/2125
A dark shadow began to peek over the horizon. It could’ve been the sun or it could’ve been anything else. It barely illuminated anything and the cold didn't dissipate. I could hear birds… or at least I hoped they were birds. The mud seemed lighter than when I went to sleep which could mean it is daytime in whatever hellish place this is. that doesn't matter. Not now at least. I packed up camp and had one of the muesli bars that were in my backpack. They were dry as sand but I was still grateful to have them. I munched on them eagerly, occasionally spitting out anything that was too hard to chew. Once I finished and composed myself, I ventured into the mud once more, slowly lowering my foot into the mud. Suddenly, an invisible force pushed me into the mud. It was like thousands of little hands grasping onto my shoe. I began to move on, slowly because of the pressure.

Lumps of mud bubbled onto the surface. That wasn’t right. No. They were like shiny globs of mud. I don’t really know how to describe them. They were .... blobs. I began to move again, slowly feeling the mudslide up and down my leg but then I accidentally stepped on one. Feeling its hard shell as I pressed down, the squeal it made as it hit the bottom. I quickly pulled my leg back. A small shelled isopod floated to the top. Its legs are still squirming.

"They shouldn’t have died," the creature said.

"It is your fault," another said.

"You’ll never escape"

"Why did you run?"

The voices kept on coming. Sliding into my head and wrapping around my ears. I clamped my ears tight to no avail. They still got through. Tears began to stream down my face. They kept on coming.

"Why did you let them?"

"You should’ve left"

"You should’ve died"

"You don’t deserve this."

How did they know? How did they know? I haven’t told anyone. I pushed through them, leaping as hard as I could.

"Face your mistake"

"You’ll never redeem yourself"

My face was covered in mud. My eyes could barely see through the muck. All I could smell was wet dirt. My hand melded into the mud perfectly. I couldn’t even feel my feet anymore, only the mud. The disgusting mud.

My heart pumped out of my chest. Dark Veins appeared on my arms and legs as I ran as fast as I could in whatever direction possible. I ran and ran, my legs burning, and tears streaming down my face. Vines and roots whipped at my legs. Grass tickling my thighs. The terrifying screech of those birds appeared again. I pushed my legs as hard as they could. Jumping over streams and rocks without a second thought.
That’s the main thing for Day 2. The next step is tomorrow. Let’s see what comes.

Lesson 2: Your mistakes will always come back to you if you don’t pull out