Never Look Back!

• Melissa Sweeney, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2009

Palms were sweating, hands were shaking, heart was beating harder than ever before. It was coming: I could feel one’s presence in my room.
The room was pitch black. I walked cautiously towards the window. Slowly I opened the shutters, they creaked with every millimetre I moved them. There was a full moon – people always say that the full moon sends people crazy. That’s what was happening, I was going crazy. I was imagining these feelings. No one else was in the room: I was all alone – all alone. I don’t know what I would rather.
I went to close the shutters, but something stopped me, something I saw out of the corner of my eye. The window was fogging up. A cold frost was forming on the inside of the window, this was impossible. It was summer, and it was 38°C inside. I carefully studied the frost. It seemed to be trying to tell me something. I looked even close. The letters were clear now: “Your turn to run!”
I could hardly move. What does this mean? I took the advice that someone was trying to give me. Tim to run! I paced quickly to the front door. I felt someone watching my every move. I was just waiting for all this to come to an end. I reached the door and the handle was cold; it felt as though it had been chilled on ice. It was sending chills down my spine; either that or I was just more horrified that ever before.
I managed to control my fear, at least until I got outside that is, the frost was appearing again. This time it was on the car windows. I didn’t want to stay around to see what it said. Unfortunately, I caught a glimpse of the front window. “Run far away, I am behind you!” My mind was spinning, millions of thoughts were in there at once and I could not control it. I couldn’t look back; must keep going forward.
I ran, not turning back, I just kept running. The night sky was lit up by the moon, but shadows were being cast in front of it. I took a moment to gaze into the night sky, to see what the shadows were. They were fascinating. I suddenly realised what the shadows were. Hands – hands reaching for a figure that looked surprisingly familiar. The hands had long sharp nails, dripping with blood, they looked like death.
“AHHH!” Something was touching my arm! I looked back at the moon and the hand was grabbing the figure. “NO HELP!” The figure in the moon was me! I should have kept running! The hand pulled me, the nails tearing my skin, I fought as hard as I could to break free but I was doomed. I was caught and had no way of freeing myself. A car pasted us slowly with no one inside. The windows were covered in frost.
“I told you to keep running! Game Over!”