Kiki

The little girl scrambled into the nettles and bushes that lined the riverbank. After coughing and spluttering, she gasped for breath, feeling sick as a sudden rush of cool night air spread through her lungs. Her thin pale fingers grasped at the wet grass and nettles, while she pushed as hard as she could onto the muddy bank. Her feet sliding back down with every piece of effort she made to climb through the thick mud. No one would ever believe her. She hardly believed what she’d seen herself. But she knew she had to get away, as soon as possible.

With one final push she managed to get her body over the edge. She was exhausted and her whole body shook with both the shrill cold of the night air, and the bare thought that they could catch up with her at any moment. The girl wanted to break down and cry. Why wasn’t anyone there to help her? They couldn’t have got the whole village. Her young mind buzzed with many questions and worries, but her basic instincts told her to go to, what felt to her, like the safest place – the village she called home.

A twig snapped just to the right of the young girl, in the overgrowth. She froze. Her eyes darted to the direction of which the noise came and she scanned the bushes. She felt her lip tremble in fear, if only this had never happened. If only they hadn’t found her. Hope filled the young girls heart, as she lay there. Although her mind was frozen in fear, she hoped that there was a way out of this mess, that the small amount of foliage, that surrounded her, would cover her body. The silence was overpowering. Nothing made a sound. The girl dared not to move. She laid her body so that it was flat against the undergrowth. Her body slowly became numb because of a mix of the chilling, cool air that pierced her skin and her back that was soaked with water from the river.

A swift movement, in the grass to her right, attracted her attention. A small agile creature that looked like a small monkey jumped out of the grass. It moved over to her hand. The small monkey-like creature had a red streak on its face. They were called Snets. They lived in close vicinity of the village, and were known for their poisonous bite. The Snet crept, slowly yet confidently, closer and closer to the girl’s hand. It was a tense situation. One bite from a Snet could kill you in a matter of minutes, and it was a painful death. She couldn’t move…they might get her. It was so close now. She could feel the Snets evil breath on her hand. She couldn’t stay here or she’d be bitten. She’d have to take the chance.

Jumping up she swung her hand violently to get the small Snit off of her hand. It screeched and ran off through the trees. Panting at her sudden use of energy, she turned around and flexed her hand, checking for any possible bite marks. The whole forest was silent. The wind that had whipped through the trees stopped abruptly. It was silent, as if the whole world has switched to mute. Then that she felt it. That hot sticky breath that bounced off her hair, and settled on her face like a warm, wet blanket. The reek of death came to the small girls nostrils, such an overpowering smell. Realisation hit her. What had she done? Her small head lifted to what was to be her last sight. The once bright, blue eyes of an innocent child glazed over as tears filled them. She continued to stare as she felt the coarse blade pierce her heart. She continued to stare, never taking her eyes off of what looked cruelly back at her. She continued to stare as death took hold. How could they have got to them by now? She continued to stare into the face of her grandma, in which sat two cold evil eyes. The eyes of the impersonator.

To be continued…