The Other Side of the Street | Teen Ink

The Other Side of the Street

October 16, 2017
By LexiLuHu BRONZE, Culpeper, Virginia
LexiLuHu BRONZE, Culpeper, Virginia
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, its about learning how to dance in the rain.


After weeks of harassment, I was desperate to escape Sloan and his gang whenever I could. Although I have tried everything to avoid him after work, he would always find a way. Today I have had it, in the heat of the moment I dashed off the street and my feet touched the cracking sidewalk. Sloan's pursuit was halted but he continued to follow me with his gang in tow. Then I heard a low snarl coming from the other side of the fence lining the sidewalk that no living soul touched in decades. 

Chapter 1: Risky Escape

 I have always stayed on the right side of the street. Not because I wanted to avoid Sloan’s gang of thugs or get more exercise, nope. On the other side of the street there is an old orphanage that had stood for centuries. Something happened to their water supply or something that the news came up with because they aren't the same little kids anymore. They are much too different to be children. A dangerous different that caused the installation of a twenty-foot barbed wire, electric fence lining the entire area of the town. Anyways, I was just walking along from the library until Jake Sloan’s handsome but cruel face materialized behind a building along with his gang. “Hi there sweetheart.” he cooed. “Beat it Sloan, I am done!” I snarled. Soon I was surrounded and my enemies were gaining ground. “Sloan you are a coward! Harassing a girl all by herself?” I suddenly charged through the circle, dodging hands intended to stop me, and I jumped off the curb. My feet ran until they touched the cracking sidewalk on the other side.
“Ha!” I guffawed in victory. “You can’t get me now, huh? I swear if you ever bother me again, I’m telling the cops! I’d rather stand on this street that be with you!” With that I bolted down that sidewalk and kept a close eye on Sloan. One of his minions started across the street after me but surprisingly, Sloan reached out and pulled him back over to their side and shook his head at his confused henchman. I stayed on my side of the street, safe from the thugs but they kept up with me on the other side. Paranoia ate at my imagination as I kept a watch on the gang and the fence that loomed beside me. Sloan had followed me home before, so I knew no matter what this night wasn’t going to end well for me. After a few minutes of breathing in the smell of car exhaust and the murky scent of rain, I looked over to see that Sloan and his gang were still in pursuit. Sighing, I continued down the sidewalk that no living soul has touched in years.
A faraway noise reached my ears and I stopped dead in my tracks. It was a gurgling growl that rippled somewhere behind me. Whipping my head around I saw a short dark figure hobbling out from behind one of the orphanage courtyard trees. A normal person would dash off that sidewalk as fast they were able but I was completely stuck. My feet were frozen in terror and another thrilling part of me was desperate to see what it was. It crept closer and I really wished I had ran when I had the chance. It was a child, or what was left of one. Eyes as white as milk and skin as pale as the moon greeted me with haunted, grasping arms that reached out to snatch me. The monster that used to be a little boy howled loudly and soon more little figures stepped out from their hiding places. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t remember how to breathe.
A little pair of hands quickly reached through the fence and snatched a part of my coat.
What finally woke me up from my trance of horror was their smell, they reeked of blood and rotting flesh that gratefully launched my survival instincts. I began to pull away and scream for anyone. “Help! Help me! Help me please!” I kicked at the grotesque hands but as fast as a rattlesnake, they caught my foot and I landed on my back with a sickening crack. “Help!” I croaked.
Strong hands gripped under my arms and heaved me off the sidewalk. The little monsters pulled harder and my shoe was nearing the electric fence. Using my free foot I kicked at the inhumanly strong hands and their grip loosened. When I was finally free my hero pulled me across the street while I could only hyperventilate and gawk at the creatures on the other side. Furious with my escape they screamed and stuck their filthy hands through the bars. One of the creatures shifted and mindlessly brushed against the high-charged fence. The electric buzz pierced like a scream in the November evening air and I finally turned to see who had saved me. Heaving against the curb was no other than Sloan, who gaped at the monsters in horror. Together we ran down the street, never stopping, never looking back.


The author's comments:

 A writing prompt. 


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