EXTRACT FROM... The Tragedy ofLife I clutched my hands over my chest. Pain spewed out through my body like a mechanical device gone wrong. My heart felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest with a double-edged razor-sharp sword. The piercing of my chest spread elsewhere. Ir headed downwards towards my legs. Then I lost all feeling. Nothing. It was an extremely unusual sensation. I could see my legs,I could touch them,but not move them or have any feeling from them. It was like a black hole - empty nothingness. Immediately, an eternal lifetime of fear swept through me. It covered me like a blanket of inky blackness. Beads of perspiration dribbled down my spine and formed an unwelcoming wetness ofmy back. Suddenly,death stared me in the eye. I tried to shout for help but my words came out in a muffled cough of blood and mucous. The light at the end of the tunnel seemed further and further away. A thousand needles injected venom into my hands. The pain flooded through my arms and up into my head. I thrashed around on my bed as my whole body throbbed in pain and fear. My life now seemed like a twig waiting to be stepped on and crushed. "What now?" I thought to myself. I can't call anyone, I can't even move, I'm helpless. I smelt the venom streaming upward and felt it ringing throughout my body. I could hear the cars driving outside and other children playing in the streets, carrying on with their lives while I sat there - helpless. I looked and saw my Pacemaker sitting next to me. "You stupid thing!" I thought. "I hate you!. I hate you for stopping. I hate you not being here when I need you most! I hate you for deserting me!" C BUYS-GRADE9 EXTRACTFROM .... Footprints in the Sand Silhouetted on a rock, against the dawning sky, sat Vincent. Through sad eyes he saw his footprints being captured by the sea. Across the rocky shore a light was forming beyond the horizon and with dawn would come Vincent's death. Across his legs lay his sabre and he drew it and ran his finger across its keen edge before replacing it. The sun was bright and the air crisp when he saw his death come striding across the rocks. The figure now stood before Vincent. "Why are you doing this Rajik?" questioned Vincent. "We are friends". Rajik's stern eyes burned with hatred as they fixed on Vincent. "Friends?" he replied, "You lost that privilege when you betrayed me". The words burrowed into the core of his soul. He saw Rajik take off his cloak and draw his rapier. Bile rose in Vincent's throat and he swallowed it. He knew he could never defeat Rajik and so,with a broken heart, stood to face him. "But Rajik, I love Vivian ", Vincent tried. "Silence!" roared Rajik and lunged at Vincent. Vincent leapt back but his speed failed him. The blade bore into his shoulder,cutting through bone and sinew. Vincent cried out and tossed his sword into his left hand. He surged upwards and launched an assault of thrusts and hacks, which Rajik blocked easily, knocking them harmlessly away. Suddenly Rajik swung his blade in a great arc, smashing Vincent's sword from his hand,and rammed it home into his friend's chest. Their eyes met. One sad and cold,the other vengeful with hatred. Vincent collapsed upon the rocks. Rajik stood for a second. Then the air was torn with the scream ofan arrow which plunged inro Rajik's throat. He fell upon Vincent's body, their blood flowing as one. At the edge ofthe rocks,a crossbow in hand and tears rolling from her eyes, stood the woman both men had loved. J SHONE-GRADE 10 59
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTc3MDU5Nw==