Original Writing Coursework English Language

“Thirty seven, thirty eight, thirty nine.”
The sharp, knife-like corner of my red hooded corduroy jacket scraped the tender flesh of my hand as I squared up to my watch waiting for the tedious hand to reach the number 12. I preferred it when I could see the distance from me to my house, but right now I wasn’t close enough to tell. The tall branches penetrated the foggy indigo sky like daggers, robbing me of my senses and replacing them with fear. The jet black sky crept above me and teased my vision. Columns upon columns of trees postured like a battalion of soldiers, as the wind battled its way through the gaps. My feet trekked over the moist blanket of leaves that had coated the earthy ground. They seemed to take me nowhere. Suspicion hung over my shoulder. The bleak moon beamed down on the broken roof of my isolated house. A full moon. Tales of inhuman activity played games with my conscience. ‘Only one howls in the woods by night.’

A distinctive stench of stale alcohol and burning cigarettes stole my breath and strangled my lungs as soon as I entered the door of my abandoned house, as I watched my Dad forcing himself into oblivion. My stomach clenched as I took a heavy gulp, my head span and cheeks ripened. Imaginary smoke charged furiously out of my ears. “Dad, have you cooked dinner?” “N-n-n-o, I asked to pick it up from Nan’s on the way home, so go back and get it or we have nothin’.” His words slurred, it was nights like that I really hated. Staying in that sickening stench with a drunken, cagey Dad seemed like an impossible option, so I did up my red jacket from the bottom to the top and pulled the thick hood over my cold ears. For one small moment, a flashback of an old beast tale started to perform in my mind. My Grandma had told me of these myths, which I decided not to believe, but the more I walk in that possessed wood, the more I start to feel accompanied. I hesitated and I shuddered; not even this nonsense would keep me from leaving this godly prison that I called home. “See you later then.”

I slammed the door so powerfully it could have signalled a pack of wolves. Darkness filled the atmosphere, the cold breeze tickled the leaves and sent powerful shivers down my spine. A sudden shock raced through me as I felt a presence nearby, the sound of small twigs snapping. If I took a step into the darkness now, there was no turning back. I plunged from the top step to the bottom, id taken a dangerous leap into the unknown. I cursed myself for being out in the woods, by myself. Whispers and tortured breaths started to follow me, I began to question whether I was really alone in this sinister brigade of trees and vines. I was almost certain that there was something behind me, but my head was struggling to turn around. “Three, two, one”, I whispered to myself, and in a single second I forced my head around without hesitation, to see a mysterious black silhouette poised under a ray of moonlight. Its red, fiery eyes glared hungrily at me as its crisp, matted fur blew back in direction of the cold breeze. The deep growling was almost carried away by the howling wind. Deadly fangs hung out of its hideous mouth, its tongue red from the blood of a previous vulnerable victim. It had ears that could recognise any movement from an ant to a human. Razor sharp claws grey out of its meaty paws like knives. The bitter cold cut into its chapped lips. This blood-lusting beast was evil and had spotted its prey. Dropping into an arched-back position, it posed fiercely and let out a thundering growl. Its shaggy fur sprouted out of its masculine back and its palms. Standing still didn’t even cross my mind. I wrestled the sweeping vines and hastily dodged the colossal amount of tree trunks standing in my way. The dominating sounds of heavy footsteps charged towards me with sheer force and rage, the spaces between each thud were getting closer. I couldn’t see my house, the pitch black had blinded me. I screamed and yelped for my Dad, I was helpless. With the upmost hope that he would hear, the screaming did not stop. All I wanted at this very moment was to run into the arms of my Dad.

My knees grew weak and the little oxygen left in my body was running short. A sudden weight collapsed onto me, so heavily that it brought me to my knees as I felt my ribs crush against the hard, rocky ground. The ferocious beast tore my coat from my back and sunk its fangs deep within my flesh. I let out an ear-piercing scream, as the inhuman creature had me pinned to the floor and attacked me further. Smells of death roamed the air, as I felt my blood stream out of my deep wounds. My vision was dissolving, as bright lights shone in straight lines across the floor. Obstacles became blurred as I began to lose all feeling in my body. He was still there, tearing at my flesh like a rag doll. The blood craving demon knew my weakness, he knew I was no match for him. Visions of my Dad played like a video in my mind as I felt my life slip away. Was it too late for my Dad to rescue me now? My Dad knew how to make me feel better, even when he was in the state he was in earlier. I forced a scream out of me but it felt weary, not even a mouse would have heard that pathetic noise. Oblivion was just a white light away.