The Gate

by Anna
(California)

I was running. My mouth was dry and my knees were shaking. I was almost to the gate. My little sister clung to me and cried. I shushed her and continued running. Behind me, I could hear the shouts and screams of the townspeople. I could hear the roars of the giant beast that was following me.

Suddenly I fell. I was so tired I couldn't get up. I just lay in the cold dirt, inches from safety. I saw the tall creature picking up my people and killing them, tearing them to pieces. Then, I fell into unconsciousness.

Just a few hours earlier, I was in my home entertaining my little brother and little sister. My father had gone out of town, and my mother was cooking dinner. We were going to have guests over that evening, so my mom had been in the kitchen all day. Finally she told me to get ready for the party. I put on my nicest dress, then dressed my brother and sister. Then the guests arrived.

As we ate dinner, I noticed something strange. The water in my glass was bouncing up and down as if there was an earthquake. A few minutes later, everyone was quiet. We began to hear loud thuds. My mother turned pale. One by one the guests got up and looked out the window. Suddenly, my sister screamed.

A large creature was entering our town and destroying everything in its path. Our guests grabbed their little children and went zooming off in their cars. My mother was calm, however, and told me to take my sister and run. She would take my brother. Unfortunately, my father had taken our car on his business trip so we had to escape on foot.

My mother told me that if we got separated, I should run to the gate. The gate is huge and is on the other side of our town. It is incredibly strong and nothing can tear it down. My mother handed me my little sister and told me to run. I have never run so fast before. I could see my mother tearing through the crowd just ahead of me. The giant creature was screeching as it devoured everyone in it's way.

It was just a few yards away. Many people had already escaped but even more had died. Finally I saw my mother run through the gate. I could tell she wanted to come back and help me, but the crowd was pulling her away. Just then the gate closed, I fell and lost all consciousness.

I awoke to my sister's screams and saw that she had crawled to the gate. I was so tired. I couldn't get up. Then I saw the creature looming over me, it's hot breath on my face. I thought I was about to die, but all of a sudden something happened. I stood and flung myself over my little sister. I pushed with all my might and opened the gate. We stumbled inside. The gate was pushed closed and I could see the worried faces of the townspeople. But we were okay.