The Swarms

I wasn’t certain what had attracted the plague of creatures, but it probably had something to do with my aunt’s ancient recipe book. I flipped to the faded black cover and looked at the title:

‘Curses for the Apocalypse,’ I read. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have messed with this after all.’

I watched as the swarms of creatures engulfed our front yard like flames engulf the sticks and leaves in a bushfire. There were thousands of them flooding in off the dirt road that led to the town that was a few miles down the road. I turned and ran towards the backdoor. I ripped open the flimsy flywire screen door and sprinted to the shed. I searched the shed in near total darkness for the one thing I thought could help me. By now I could hear the creatures growling and scratching at the side gate. I finally found what I was looking for; I took it outside so I could look at it properly.

The one thing that my father had left me before he disappeared ten years ago was his beloved shotgun. I raced back inside the shed and grabbed a 20-litre bucket that was full of shotgun shells. I loaded the gun and braced myself for the ravenous onslaught that was that I was about to face head-on. At that moment in my life I had never felt so terrified yet so alive with pure adrenaline. The gate was just about to give way to the blood thirsty creatures that had been called by the ancient cook book. The wooden planks snapped making a large enough gap for my unearthly foe to charge through the destroyed gate. I unleashed a whirlwind of molten lead into the face of the lead creature. The creature exploded releasing a putrid gas that seemed to make time slow down. I regained my senses and fired again into oncoming wave of creatures.

More explosions shattered my ear drums and more of the putrid gas penetrated my nostrils. I was just about out of shells and my head was pounding like the hard ground underneath a stampede of wild horses, spooked by the ear shattering crack of lightning in the midst of a midsummer storm. I heard a twang behind me. I whipped around to see that the creatures had worked their way around to the back of the yard. I knew that very soon I would be crushed by the persistent devil-like creatures. I felt a sharp pain in my back that made me realise that I had been distracted for too long and now they had me. I ripped the creature of my back while it tore a chunk of muscle out from between my shoulder blade and my spine. I cringed and fell onto my stomach. I rolled over to defend myself, and as I did a creature leapt onto my chest, looked into my eyes and sunk its fangs into my throat. I could feel the air escape my lungs through the tiny holes in my neck. Now I could feel a coldness creeping up my body and I knew this was the end.

By Jack Wallace, Year 9 (Male)