Ap English Short Story

I settle back and look up at the sky, listening to the screaming of the frogs and crickets. My eyes are just starting to close when something cold and spiny hits me on the throat, falls to the ground, and lies there flipping in the dirt.

“No, but I feel as if everything I have ever thought of is gone,” I swallowed and then continued the gruesome journey to the other side of the island. After about an hour of silence, I heard a scream. Looking back I saw smoke and orange-red sparks fly from the ground. A billow of ash erupted around me. Through the commotion, I lost track of the others in my group. I fell to the ground, crawling through the flames that soared higher than the horizon.

It was early in the morning: Ruby left the tent, bleary eyed, and made his way through the field. Unbound by the decaying fence, the cows had strayed to the far end of the clearing. Ruby hopped the fence and began towards them; knowing the ritual, they stayed put.

Now I want you to close your eyes. Imagine yourself. Not just yourself, your whole life. Imagine your family, your children, all of your friends and co-workers, envision everything; and then… a blast. A blinding flash of light. Heat. Blood curdling screams from children and women

Everything comes flooding back, the old house, the writing and the creature. I quickly sit up wires pull on my arms. A woman dressed in all white comes over to me.

I open my eyes and the first thing I want to do is scream. I’m flat on my back and everything seems to hurt. The trees overhead look familiar...it’s a clear night sky, almost beautiful except for the fact that this means I’ve been out cold for at least six hours. But there’s something wrong....I don’t remember what, but something happened and...My head...my God, my head hurts. And a ringing in my ears. Was there an accident? An explosion, I think. I remember Dennis screaming...but after that...I can’t remember…

The darkness is slowly scaring me making me feel overwhelmed. I can’t see anything. I feel suffocated and musty with all these boxes stocked next to me and on top of me. I’ve been here for so long and I feel so hopeless and useless. Then suddenly a bright light shines on me and I finally feel free from this very comfortless home. I wish someone would open this lid on top of me so I can breath in fresh air. But here I am staying strong and just patiently waiting. Then suddenly, I am lifted, opened, and place on top of a flat surface. I feel so nervous. I am hearing human voices. My wish is granted. It is my time, and I am free!

My thoughts are cut off by the sound of the PA system’s screech. Red lights are dancing all over the floor outside my cell. The cell door clangs open. I sprint out of the cell without questioning why this has happened.

Still looking around through pitch black darkness I hear it again, louder and closer this time. My heart beats a bit faster in a panic of fear and adrenaline, and my eyes dart to the foot of the bed, hoping to see nothing and calm down. But instead, at the foot of the bed I can barely make out

I walked outside and found that everyone was dead and I had no one. Then I turned around and found that the only person alive, which was Rebecca, was now gone and I knew I would never see her or anyone else again.

“I wasn’t dead in the first place.” I try to pull myself up, the rest of the town would have already woken up and will be flooding the streets soon. “Vivvy, help me up. We need to get home.” I somehow make it to my feet, clutching my bruised stomach.

My eyes fluttered open to the darkness, slowly adjusting itself. The bright world in my dreams evaporated as quickly as it had come. A wing brushed along my back, and a claw dug itself into my side. I flinched. But this is life. Bit by bit, others beside me awoke. They stirred, they groaned, and many pairs of eyes blinked open. Whispers arose.

“Yeah, sorry about that. It’s important though, so try to get here as soon as possible. I’ll explain while you drive, and get into better details when you get here.”

I however head toward the light that is just cresting the horizon. I continue walking not paying attention to where I’m going, I’ve walked it so many times that it just comes naturally. I finally get to where I’m going, a little pond only a few minutes away from my house. As I grab my lighter from my left pocket and my orange flavored Swisher Sweet from my right, I can not help but think of my friends and how much I will miss them. I lean on the railing as I light it and watch the smoke blend in with early morning mist rising from the water only a foot or so. I keep thinking about everyone I know and how all of my life is about to start changing. I hear little splashes from fish catching the bugs unlucky enough to have fallen in the water. Those bugs lives are completely over and I think mine could end up that way too. I feel the warmth of the fire start warming my finger telling my it’s done. I flick the last bit out into the water and I hear a small splash. I tell myself, “It’s okay to move on”.

The room I walked into was pitch black. I moved my hands across every surface, looking for a light of some sort. There I found a small, metal lantern. I picked it up, and turned it on. A Yellow glow came from the lantern. Not enough light to see everything around me, but enough light to see where I was heading to. I strolled further into the cabin. While walking, I could hear faint, yet noticeable whispers behind me. I ignored these whispers, trying to think of any reasonable cause of this sound. The farther I walked, the louder the whispers became.