Art n' Stuff × CC's Book of Randomness II

= Along the Brick Sidewalk - A Short Story || 8/20/2022

I wrote this short story for English class! Please read and comment, as well as let me know of any contests looking for short stories like these! Thanks you, :D

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I got an eerie feeling when I heard the wind whistling quietly through the trees. The feeling was something I have never felt before, something quite unimaginable. If it was a normal day, I would have shrugged it off, or not even noticed it. But what I had experienced that day was nothing compared to what was to come.

I started to walk a bit faster, but carefully since the brick sidewalk was cracked and broken up. The wind was getting louder and louder, following closely behind me. The sky started to get darker as the sun sank into the trees. As the wind got louder, I started to run faster. My house was less than a block away now, but I wasn't sure now if I would make it. When I came to a large tree by the side of the road, I veered to the right and ran toward the wide expanse of trees. Maybe I can lose it in the woods, I thought, even though I didn't believe myself.

Before I even left the sidewalk, I tripped over a brick that jutted diagonally out of the ground. I put my hands forward, preparing to stop myself from hitting the ground hard when a whoosh! went under me, knocking my hands away to the side. The last thing I remember was my head hitting the bricks.

I woke up to see the moon right above my head, shining almost as bright as the sun. The wind had stopped, even though a slight breeze was blowing past me. As I struggled to sit up, it hit me that I had hit the sidewalk face down, not on my back. Now even more scared than before, I stood up and started to run towards my house, only to realize that my surroundings didn't match what I had remembered.

Instead of nice, well-kept houses, there were broken-down ones, looking like no one had lived in them for years. The trees either have fallen down or had no leaves on them, most of the trees were both. The brick sidewalk was the most unusual, not broken up or cracked. This is the most unusual, I thought to myself, not sure on what to do. Do I run towards my house? Should I sit here and wait for something to happen?

Then, a loud roaring sound came from down the street, back towards where I had come from. Clouds started to roll in, with lightning crashing and thunder booming from it. The loud roar happened again, and then again, getting closer and faster at each moment. Yet, nothing was coming towards me, except for the storm clouds. I stumbled backwards, then started to run away from the sound. But no matter how far or fast I ran, whatever was chasing me got faster and louder.

I noticed that the road kept going straight, seeming to never end. I decided to run into the woods, unsure of where I was going. After about a minute or so, I ran clear across the forest only to walk out into the same road, with the same brick sidewalk. I looked down the road to see the storm clouds coming towards me, now as fast as a jet.

I crouched down on the sidewalk, covering my head with my hands as the storm blew over me. The rain was falling as hard as stone, pounding on my arms and head. I noticed the roaring had stopped, only to allow the constant booming and crashing of thunder to deafen my ears. Before I knew it, a blinding streak of lightning appeared from the sky, coming down and striking me, causing me to black out.

What I had experienced was death, and it was what destroyed me and everything I knew. A lesson to all: never run away from something that can catch up with you.