11:43 PM
I steered my car with fatigue. If a Halloween party wasn’t enough, the dances and games surely drained my energy completely.
RING!
The ringer of my phone startled me. I fumbled my fingers through the centre console, attempting to find my phone, all while driving at the same time. I suddenly felt a rectangular shape in the storage compartment, and I grasped the phone in my hand. A dark silhouette appeared from the other side of the road. I instantaneously slammed the brake and panted heavily, as my car skidded to an abrupt halt.
THE STRANGE HITCH HIKER
My droopy eyelids delayed my vision, but from the corner of my eye, I observed an image of a messy-haired girl approaching my car. Her unkept hair corkscrewed in a spiral pattern. She came darting towards my car, with clenched teeth that were beaming from a distance. The strange girl jumped on to the bonnet of the car and banged her knuckles on my windscreen while drops of sweat emerged from her fists. I swerved my car to the right, but she held on with all her might.
My phone’s home screen was flooded with messages, with the most recent one sent by the Halloween party’s host, Krisha. I frustratedly typed the digits to my phone password, and then called 000.
NO SIGNAL!⚠️
I stared at the phone. Time for Plan B, I thought. There really was no other option.
CLICK!
The car door opened.
I cautiously stepped out of the car, keeping my guard up. Who knew how dangerous this bewildering girl could be? As soon as she saw me, she jumped off the windscreen. I didn’t know I had the guts to come face-to-face with a ferocious creature like this one.
“What do you want?” I asked. My hands were shaking and my blood went cold.
The girl paused for a moment. I was patiently waiting for her response.
“I need a ride, I need to get back to my home,” she declared.
THE DECISION
The girl’s eyes were filled with desperation as she clasped her hands together, pleading with me to help her reach her destination. Her gaze was so intense that I couldn’t refuse her request. I agreed to take her home, but only if she promised to behave herself throughout the journey. The girl unlocked her phone to show me the location, and a name appeared on the screen. Shana Paul.
“It’s nice to meet you, Shana.”
SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR
As I continued driving with Shana, a sense of unease started to creep over me. I noticed that Shana was unusually quiet, barely making any conversation or showing any signs of gratitude for the ride. I tried to brush off my concerns, thinking that Shana might just be tired or having a bad day.
However, as we drove further, I noticed that Shana kept glancing nervously at her phone. It seemed as though she was constantly checking for something or receiving certain messages that were making her uneasy. My curiosity grew, and I started to wonder if there was something more to Shana’s behaviour than met the eye.
Unable to shake off my instincts, I decided to strike up a conversation to gauge Shana’s reaction. But as soon as I asked a simple question about her plans or destination, she became visibly flustered. She stammered and avoided giving a direct answer, further fueling my suspicions. Now deeply concerned, my mind raced with possibilities. Could Shana be in some kind of trouble? Was she being pursued by someone? Or is she involved in something illegal? My imagination ran wild with worst-case scenarios, but I knew I couldn’t jump to conclusions without concrete evidence.
THE DEVIATION
Deciding to trust my instincts, I discreetly took a different route, deviating from the original destination. I hoped that the unexpected change would reveal more about Shana’s intentions. As we drove on the unfamiliar road, Shana’s anxiety became even more apparent. She started fidgeting, glancing out the window as if searching for something. Suddenly, Shana’s phone rang and she hastily answered it. I caught snippets of the conversation, hearing words like “meeting point”, “12:30” and “transformation”. My suspicions intensified and I anticipated that I might need to protect myself.
Without warning, I pulled over to the side of the road, pretending to have car trouble. Shana’s panic became obvious, and she demanded to know what was happening. Sensing danger, I firmly told Shana that she needed to get out of the car immediately. Shana protested, arguing that she wouldn’t leave until she reached her destination. Ardently, she refused to get out of the car and demanded why I was behaving in such a manner.
SOMEWHERE NEARBY…
A dozen police cars were searching for a skilled criminal. The search had taken ages, and they had finally found a clue. The policemen had a rough sketch of the suspect by a witness.
According to the image, the girl had messy hair tied up in a ponytail. The police search continued.
While driving, the policemen came across a street with a car parked in the middle. Two females were inside, arguing and screaming at each other. The police decided to look further into the situation.
A policeman exited the police vehicle to approach the black car when his eyes widened.
He looked from the sketch of the suspect and back to the girl in the passenger seat. This was his moment to make the arrest, to get promoted. He bravely approached the vehicle.
Back inside the car, Shana stared outside. She was ferociously biting her nails and shaking with rage. The moment she saw the policeman outside, she gave me a scary look. Then, unlocking the door of my car, with all her strength, Shana slammed the car door into the policeman, sending him crashing to the ground. Before I could react, she sprinted as fast as she could, towards a forest that was up ahead.
THE CHASE
As Shana ran into the nearby forest, her heart pounded in her chest, filled with fear and adrenaline. The dense foliage surrounded her, providing temporary cover from the pursuing police. She knew that she needed to find a way to evade capture. Navigating through the thick undergrowth, Shana tried to muffle her footsteps, carefully trying not to leave any obvious signs of her passage. She moved swiftly, relying on her knowledge of the forest and her agility to outmaneuver her pursuers.
As the police closed in, Shana’s mind raced, desperately searching for a plan. She spotted a small creek up ahead, its babbling waters promising a potential escape route. Without hesitation, she changed her course and headed towards it, hoping to throw off her scent and confuse the police. After all it was just another 20 minutes that she needed. Ducking under low-hanging branches and leaping over fallen logs, Shana reached the creek. She waded through the knee-deep water, careful not to disturb the surface too much. She continued upstream for a while, knowing that the current would carry away any traces of her presence. After a few minutes, Shana emerged from the creek, her clothes soaked but her determination unwavering. She spotted a towering oak tree nearby, its branches stretching towards the sky. With a surge of determination, she began to climb, using the tree’s height to her advantage.
Perched high on a sturdy branch, Shana scanned her surroundings. She saw the police officers, their flashlights piercing through the darkness, searching for any sign of her. She remained hidden, her breathing shallow, hoping that her elevated position would keep her concealed. Time seemed to slow down as the police officers combed through the forest, their footsteps growing fainter. Shana’s heart raced, her mind flickered with possibilities and she giggled at what would happen in the next few minutes. Should she stay hidden until they gave up the search? Or should she take a risk and make a break for it?
As the minutes ticked by, Shana decided to seize the opportunity. She carefully descended the tree, her body trembling with anticipation. With newfound resolve, she started moving again, this time in a different direction, away from the police.
Using her knowledge of the forest, Shana took advantage of the terrain, travelling through natural obstacles and hidden paths to her advantage. She moved silently, like a ghost, leaving no trace of her presence behind.
It was now 12:40 am and the police were still searching. Shana, in the meanwhile had left her skin in the pit by the creek. Her phone had fallen dead along with her skin.
1:00 AM
I was totally zapped by the events of the last hour. The policeman had stood there for almost 30 minutes trying to ask me who Shana was and how I knew her. Finally he had taken me to the local police station and despite my pleadings, he had thrown me in the lockup cell. I had just been able to make one call to my friend Krisha and she had promised that she would be coming for me asap.
The lock up cell was almost dark and I was drowsy with fatigue. The Halloween party, Shana’s mysterious appearance and disappearance and the encounter with police had drained my energy in such a manner that I felt almost lifeless.
SHANA AGAIN!
The ringer of my phone startled me. I looked at my home screen and saw the name Shana Paul flashing on it.
The moment I received the call, some fumes came out of the phone and the next minute Shana was sitting next to me. I was exasperated. Before I could ask or even think anything, she asked, ‘Wanna escape?’
‘Yes,’ I replied.
“Are you sure?”
“Duh! Are you nuts, who would want to spend their life in a jail cell?”
The very next moment, Shana slit my throat. I dropped my skin and we were out of the lock-up, in a crazy world where we had no bodies…
AN HOUR LATER…
Krisha and her brother came running into the police station. Krisha was calling out my name. The policeman after a brief conversation with her, escorted her to my cell.
Krisha’s jaw dropped as she saw nothing but a puddle of blood lying on the floor.
Writer : Harman
Grade : 6 (Year 2023)
Place : Sydney, Australia
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