Short Story

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by JessicaSkye1

by JessicaSkye1

This is just my English draft and felt like uploading it to Wattpad. WHICH BTW WE HAVE TO WRITE IN EXAM CONDITIONS AND FOR THE FINAL WE CANT EVEN BRING IN OUR DRAFT! Anyways hope you enjoy

"Don't look. Don't look. Don't look," she whispered to herself not wanting to open her eyes; willing herself to disappear. Her heart pounded against her chest and the sound seemed to echo along the dark, moist walls of the alley, scattered with graffiti. She hoped and prayed that the man couldn't hear the frantic 'BOOM, BOOM!'. She pressed her side further into the cold metal of the dumpster her butt already starting to hurt from the uneven ground. The man's shoes clacked along the pebbled path, 'tap, tap, tap.' Its boom reverberating along the dank walls and the sound ran straight towards her small ears. She willed herself to shrink smaller and smaller so she could blend in with the rubbish that surrounded her. The smell of it invaded her nostrils, burning the hairs and she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from leaping out of her hiding spot and giving herself away. Cold air whipped across her grimy cheeks that chilled her to the bones, her mangy clothes not helping to ward off the unrelenting, monstrous air. Her cracked and bloodied fingers felt like that any moment they would leap off her hands and yell "she's over here!" just so they could end its suffering. She tried to think back to why she left, hoping that the reason was good enough to justify her suffering.

It has been two months now since she had left home, the small reasons surrounding it had been thrown away like trash. The main reason was what she remembered. She had been arguing with her mother about going to a party but she refused. So, in the moment with her anger still burning in the pit of her stomach, she had left home that night with only the clothes that she wore and 20 pounds that she carried in her jean pocket. She hadn't foreseen what would happen to her.

Winter came through quickly- it must be nearly Christmas now, the decorations signalling the festive holiday's nearness but the weather only got colder.

"I want my Mummy," she whispered into her chest. The desperate plea being carried off into the wind. The man's shoes echoed louder and louder and louder until she couldn't handle it anymore. A small whimper escaped past her frozen lips. "Please don't look. Please," she prayed towards the man. She peeked open her eyes, to the see the man swaying from side to side, holding the small knife in his hand precariously, it's blade glinting in the moonlight taunting her with its sharpness and the promise to bring further pain. The cigarette that dangled in between his two fingers was the only light in the dark night; sending puffs of smoke into the air and the man's head searched side to side, the evil gleam in his eyes winking at her.

He stopped. Raised his head like a wolf catching the scent of his prey. She pressed herself further against the cold wall behind her. She prayed. She begged. He walked towards her slumped form. Stopped. Searched. She could feel the gaze from him pass over her frozen and cramped limbs. A small object landed against her bare cheek, burning it and she had to bite her tongue from crying out. The smoke danced into her eyes making them water. 'Stay still, don't move,' she whispered to herself, the sound muffled by the wind. She could hear his footsteps sound farther and farther away-until the sound stopped entirely. She welcomed the silence; hugged it as warm pools of relief ran down her cheeks. She didn't know how long she stayed there, but in that time she decided that she wanted to go home: to the warm fire, the tight embrace of her mother and to her bed where she could sleep in peace.

She eventually braved up enough courage to stand up, walk away from the dark alley and hurry to the nearest telephone, her cramped limbs protesting. Her icy fingers fumbled in her coats' waist pocket for the little change that she had collected off the ground over the weeks. She put them in the tiny slot. Punched in the number. Pressed the phone to her numb ear and waited. A tired voice at the other end spoke into her ear. "It's 2 am, ring at another time."

"Mum?" a sob broke past her mouth, she didn't care to try and stop it.

"Kiara?"

THE END