Sally

• Summer Aldis, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2008

“HELP I’ve been kidnapped!”
Sally kicked and wriggled. It was the middle of the night. The only sound was Sally’s screaming. Nobody knew Sally so they couldn’t help.

Oh sorry! You probably don’t know what I’m on about, so I’ll tell you where it all started.

It was Saturday morning, and Sally was brushing her short, blond hair. Today was one of Sally’s most important days, for it was her sixteenth birthday. But Sally didn’t know her age; she didn’t even know her own name. All she knew was that today was not going to be ordinary.

You know how sometimes you have a dream, but it’s not a dream. More like a glimpse into the future. Sally had been having the same dream, or glimpse into the future for days.

Every night, Sally would see herself in a bare room, so bare you could even call it an empty box. Then without warning, about five minutes later, a man dressed in black jumped out of nowhere holding a sharp cutting knife. But Sally always had this feeling, a feeling of knowing.

Sally woke with a start. She wasn’t in her worn out, straw bed. Instead, she was tied up on an old, wooden chair. The room looked strangely familiar. Sally groaned in fear when she realized it was the bare room.
“Long time no see….Sally.” The voice spat out angrily. Sally thought to herself, “who is the person?”
And without warning, like his was a mind reader. He started explaining.

“I’m the thing that keeps you up at night, the thing that haunts every corner of your mind… the thing that terrifies you until you’re fearful of your own shadow.” The voice continued. Suddenly a shadow passed in front of her. Sally immediately recognised who it was. I am Dratzuci, or to you, father. Sally’s eyes widened. Impulsively she wanted to run up and hug him, yet a sixth sense warned her to stay as far away as possible.

Sally screamed in fear as Dratzuci pulled out a sharp cutting knife from his pocket.

She knew her father was dangerous, she knew at any moment he would stab her… but he didn’t, instead he chopped the ropes that bound her to the chair. She scrambled awkwardly to her feet and raced toward the door as Dratzuci blocked her path. “You shall die Sally!” He raged.

She screamed as she felt the knife tear through her stomach. Sally’s life flashed past as she slipped into unconsciousness, she just saw her father laugh in triumph.

Three weeks later, Sally was out of hospital exploring the world. While her father spent the rest of his life in jail. Nobody knows why Dratzuci had the urge to kill Sally; the reason will remain his secret forever.