Chase

• Anna Balis, Grade 4, Livingstone Primary School
• Poetry
• 2009

Finalist in the 'World of Words 2009' competition

I can hear their feet pounding on the pavement behind me. I look back; they’re getting closer with every passing second. My legs are aching but I mustn’t stop, I have to keep going, I can’t let them catch me!
My heart is racing; I try to keep a steady pace. Then I look up and see a hill, at first I think I won’t make it, but then I remember what someone once told me: If you don’t try your hardest you’re sure to regret it. So I force my painfully aching legs to move faster. I’m now approaching the hill with extraordinary speed; I feel my foot rise onto the base of the hill. Then I take the weight off my heels, and lift up onto my toes; bending over slightly. I look back over my shoulder, just to make sure, but they’re still quite close so I increase my pace and go even faster.
I’m slowly but steadily jogging up the hill. I’m so worried that I’ll slip and they catch up to me. Everything is going past in a blur, all the red brick houses and the leafless dead trees. I’ve reached the top of the hill. ‘Oh no’, I think, ‘an intersection.’ One path leads towards the lake and one back down the other side. The blood rises into my face, I panic, which way do I go?
Down by the lake the path is confusing I could get even more lost than I am already.
So I sprint down the hill, just as I reach the bottom, I trip on some loose gravel and fall. I scrape my knees on the stones and kick dust into my eyes. I start blinking furiously, it stings like mad! It was only after a few seconds did I realise that I had stopped moving altogether. I focus my watery eyes straight ahead; try not to think about my stinging knees and in despite of the sweat dripping down my face, I started up a slow run. After a while, I start to wonder how much longer I can keep this up.
Then I see a bunch of trees, ‘and you know what trees mean’, I thought; shade! I sprint towards the trees, looking forward to some shelter from the hot sun. As I’m running though the trees I start to feel quite relaxed almost forgetting why I was running and who was chasing me. Then I heard footsteps, my heart missed a beat… They’re going to catch me after all that. My legs automatically stat to move faster, I always feel like I’m flying when I run like this. Suddenly I look up, and there’s the finish line. I’ve won the race!