Flash Flood

My sister is no more.

It was like any other dreary day in school. I was walking along the canteen stalls deciding what I would have for recess. My younger sister was tagging along behind me, keeping up her incessant chatter. This was when Jim, my best friend, raced past me, screeching "Flash flood!!" he yelled, with profound terror written upon his face.

I whipped around to see a surfer's dream. A twenty-five foot wave towered above us. When I saw that the looming monster was charging towards us like the hordes of Genghis Khan, fear coursed through my body. I hauled my sister upon my back and fled at the speed of light. I flew up the steps which stretched forever upwards, sprinting as fast as my legs could carry me. I barely made it to the second storey when the flood swept through the canteen. However, at that last fateful moment, my grip on my sister loosened as cold sweat lubricated my hands. She slipped away and plunged into the deep flood waters. I gazed helplessly as she struggled to swim.

That was the last I saw of her.

The foundations were crumbling in the force of the waves. The buildings gave way and crashed into the water. Water washed through the corridors. I dashed into a classroo, slamming the door behind me. My desperate attempt was to no avail. The door snapped under stress. Seconds later, I was met by the full might of the wave. I was stunned by the force of the collision. Gasping for breath, I broke the surface, taking in the long-awaited air. Clinging to the remains of a table, I followed the current. "It must have come from Balm Creek" I murmured.

I opened my eyes. Glancing around, I concluded that I was at Lexington Hospital. My weak eyes were not yet accustomed to the bright lights and could not stop blinking. A nurse entered. Seeing that I was conscious, she explained a few things. They had identified me correctly as a Heppner resident who had been swept downstream. The rescue team had located my parents but believed that my sister had died during the terrible disaster.

This news brought a torrent of tears.

Burglar in the Night

The screech of an owl broke the silence of the night, piercing my ear drums. I woke up with a start. I gkanced around my pitch dark room. Finally, concluding that I would need a light, my hand fumbled for the switch.

I tried the switch, but it did not respond. Despite my efforts, I found that it was in vain. "Another power cut!" I mumbled. Drowsily pulling myself up I staggered to the door. "As dark as a dungeon". I thought as I dragged myself to the kitchen.

How odd. I was sleepy but could not sleep. I pulled the curtains open and was greeted with the snarling face of someone fiddling with the lock. However, it was away in a flash, fleeing into the dark cloak of the night. I, too, was away as fast as my puny legs could carry me. Racing up the steps, I barged into my parents' room, crashing through the door. "Ugly face!" I gasped. My parents were violently jerked from dreamland. They stared at me with glazed eyes, as if in a trance.

Pulling myself together, I briefed them on the happenings. Even before I finished my narration, they had leapt from their beds and phoned the police. The police arrived in the blink of an eye, pulling up the driveway in their police cars. Then, all of a sudden, we heard a loud bark and an ear splitting scream. The same man whom I had seen earlier at the window, burst from a nearby bush with a dog hot on his heels. The police caught the man roughly and immediately recognised him as a wanted man. I know nothing of the rest as I had trudged back to my welcoming bed and had myself a good night of sleep.