IGCSE Paper 2 Writing Practices

He Who Hesitates is Lost (Narrative)

Original question: 'He who hesitates is lost.' Write a story to illustrate this saying. Write about 600-700 words.

It was a scorching summer day when crowds gathered in curiosity in the middle of London's congested streets. Alarming yellow tapes stretched far and wide before the murmuring crowds, leaving just enough space for the officers that darted down into a gloomy metro station. They rushed into the profound darkness, which was incongruous with the bright, bustling streets above, as they prepped their guns to be ready with anything that comes ahead of them.

Earlier this morning, officer Kevin had received word of some unusual gun shooting in an abandoned metro station. Since multiple shooting incidents had repeatedly occurred this month, he can't help but think how they could be connected. 

"Officer Kevin! We've secured the station. Please proceed to it now!"

"Roger," Kevin replied and immediately marched out of the building alongside officer John. But little did they know how dreadful it will be for them today.

The smell of dust gushed through their nostrils as they descended deeper into the station. An unusual wind streamed through as it rushed away instantly into the void with a pungent scent of iron. Kevin gulped. "It mustn't be," he thought.

"K-Kevin," John stammered, standing stationary behind Kevin as he lifted his hands towards a dark corner. The lights flickered, casting an ominous glow upon a perilous splatter of velvet liquid. Like a snake, it curled away into the infinite darkness, leaving an unruly, shimmering trail of...

Blood.

"Hush, don't make noise," Kevin whispered, "he's near; follow the trail." Kevin took a deep breath as a perplexed shiver rippled through his body. They were all at the peaks of their tolerance, for what they can only see is a never-ending void of darkness. But the culprit is there, creeping beneath the shadows, preying upon them like a beast hunting its delicious prey. 

Their hearts pounded even more vigorously as they reached the ends of the path. The trail curved into the right, alarming the impending encounter of these two forces. Behind the corner, an unnerving murmur echoed through the hallway as the lights flickered intermittently. One step, two steps; like a  cautious cat, they slinked towards the corner. Kevin clutched tighter unto his gun as they approach.

He moved swiftly and intercepted the corner, "freeze! Drop everything down!" Kevin screamed as he thrust his gun up and pointed straight ahead...straight ahead into nothing. Nothing but a phone playing a dialogue while illuminating the surrounding darkness.

"W-what?" Kevin stuttered.

"Kevin! Behind you!" John's shout tore through the air as a figure became conspicuous when the flickering lights lit him aglow.

It's a kid with a gun.

Everything played out in slow motion. The gun Kevin's holding followed the arc his body swung in, pointing straight towards the kid. But he hesitated. His finger froze on the trigger as gunshots fired through the air. Kevin's eyesight blurred; everything became fuzzy until he saw nothing at all. It's been like forever as his consciousness floated in an inky space until he began to hear his heartbeat pounding against his ears. A light pierced through the darkness. A white room and the scent of head sanitizer emerged before his senses.

"I'm...alive?" Kevin faltered as he peered confusingly around the hospital room.

"The kid's dead," Kevin turned to see John sitting beside his bed, his face so ashen when he spoke, "he's the culprit of the shootings this month."

"John?" Kevin sat up, "that kid, he only looks like a 14-year-old. John, how did Iー."

"He missed and shot your shoulder because I pulled the trigger earlierー"John interrupted in a guttural voice, "I killed that kid."

A choking silence conquered the room while the curtains billowed silently in the indolent sunlight. Kevin let out a long, deep sigh.

"No, John, my hesitation almost killed us," Kevin's eyes spark in confidence, "you're not a murderer; you pulled the trigger without hesitation...to save me."

John looked up into Kevin's eyes as he continued, "thank you, John."

It was a scorching summer day in the middle of London when Kevin watch John's tears poured down like falling raindrops. It's just another step in their unpredictable and yet beautiful path of life.

(691 words)