2024.06.11 Simon's Grade-9 English Final Creative Writing Assignment

A flash of lightning and the crack of thunder, a spark alights. The fire burns ever higher, towering above the body of a behemoth creature. The titan collapses, its legs burning away beneath it. The beast’s body slowly blackens and chars, thick scales peeling away to reveal ever more burnt flesh. The plateau that covers its back sloughs off, with trees and homes crumbling as they hit the ground. They become nothing but fuel for the fire.

…

I watch Xolanotl, my home, until there is nothing left to see but smoldering rubble. I see others turn to start gathering food and make shelter. I breathe deeply, the acrid smoke stinging my nose, and turn to help. Most of us had been off scouting; trying to find a safe route for the Xolanotl. A few dozen people have been pulled from the wreckage, but most won’t survive much longer, not without proper medical equipment. There is no conversation over the meager meal we manage to scrounge up. There is no one to talk to I suppose, seeing as most of our friends and families are buried somewhere in the wreckage. I could have stopped this. If I had paid better attention,maybe, everyone would be alive. That night I lay awake, watching the stars drift on by. I decide that the only thing I can do is to leave this forsaken place.

The next day is almost harder than the first. This is no bad dream. Our whole lives, our plans, our dreams, our pasts are burned away in the fire. I take all that I own, and say my goodbyes, few as they are. I finally set off, placing my father’s knife on my belt, one last reminder of this place. I climb over burnt logs and blackened undergrowth. I wish I could have helped; the signs were all there, the dry brush, the brewing storm. I should have known. But we had seen many storms in the past, not one had caused such a disaster.

I eventually find a small cave, sheltered from the elements. I set up camp inside because night is beginning to fall, and the surface world at night has no mercy for anything unlucky enough to be caught in the shadows. The shadows grow, and night falls slowly over the forest. I fall into a fitful sleep.

I groggily wake up the next day, the sun is already high in the sky; my body is not yet used to the routines of travel. The going is easier now, as the trees slowly open up into an expansive grassland. Only a few trees dot the horizon far in the distance. Far in the distance I hear a strange sound, a bellow from some beast of plains. With nothing better to do, and hardly any reason to live, I head to investigate the noise. I duck below the tall grasses, and slowly stalk towards the bellowing. The creature’s cries soften, and become all but inaudible against the sound of the wind.

I crest the top of a hill, seeing a slumped and bloodied shape which lays at its base unmoving. I scan the grasses for any sign of what did this, but whatever it is has left, or is too well hidden for me to find. Ignoring my better senses, I approach the creature. Its four wide eyes watch me fearfully, and it calls out weakly. As I study the creature, I realize it looks eerily familiar, this is a juvenile xolanotl, not even old enough to have found itself a shell.

I couldn’t save my home, but this time I can do something. I immediately start staunching the bleeding with bits of cloth and gauze. The xolanotl stopped making noise quickly after it realized I was there to help. As I wrapped the final slashes on its side, the xolanotl tried to slowly stand. It pulled six shaky legs underneath it, and slowly pushed off the ground. It looked down at me expectantly, before turning and limping a short distance. It looked back at me impatiently. Doesit really want me to follow it? Where is it taking me? I suppose I don’t exactly have any better place to be than wherever it is going, so I quickly catch up.

We walk for hours, the afternoon sun slowly setting, and the creatures of the night undoubtedly stirring. The xolanotl only rarely looked back to see if I was still following, all the while maintaining its slow, but relentless pace. Grasses cut at my legs, but I can hardly bother to notice. My whole body aches from the endless walking, but still, late into the evening, we press on. I hope we soon reach our destination, not just for my sake, but if we are caught out here in the open, we might as well set the table for whatever finds us.

I sigh in relief as we come to a small crater punched in the side of a hill. What look like abandoned nests fill the crater, and trees fill the nesting site. The xolanotl curls up amongst the densest of the trees, while I take food out of my pack and sit down next to it to eat. We soon fall asleep, exhausted from our ordeals.

But sleep is not long for us tonight; I jolt awake with the sound of rustling in the branches above. The moon hovers high above, a sliver hanging in the sky framed by growing storm clouds. I pull my knife from its sheath and strike a torch. I jostle my new friend awake, and it slowly rises, tired and wounded. The sounds in the branches above grow louder, and a large shape flits through the treetops. The torchlight glints off the intricate obsidian knife, but just out of the torch’s glow the creature circles us.

The monster Lunges from the darkness, six spidery legs thrown back, and a sharp maw open wide. I dip to the right just in time, and thrust my knife at its throat. The blade just glances off of thick scales harmlessly. It turns to face me. It shrieks in frustration, opening its bifurcated jaw, wide enough to fit me whole before turning to my injured companion and preparing to lunge forward. I jump at it, swinging my torch wildly.

As I brandish my torch, our assailant flinches and retreats. It shakes its head violently, unused to the bright light. I, more confident, charge the beast, torch held aloft. I stab at the creature, dodging to its side, and aiming for what I hope is the softer underside. I find my mark, and the beast howls in pain. It thrashes about, and its tail lands squarely in my chest, knocking the wind out of me. I nearly collapse, but I find my footing just in time for it to send another blow my way. This time, it throws the torch from my hand. The torch hits the soaked ground, and sputters weakly as the fire dies, cloaking us once again in darkness. I trip and fall on the shadowed ground. The monster, faintly illuminated by the night sky, prepares to dive forward.

A flash of light, and a booming sound, louder than any I have heard before, pierces the night. Lightning strikes the ground, brighter than the sun in midday, louder than the calls of even the greatest beasts.

The monster stumbles back, eyes milky and blind. It collapses on the ground, confused and senseless. It tries to stand, shaken but not yet defeated, but my friend is done with this. It stands to its full height, and stomps down on our stunned attacker, crushing it instantly.

The sun is just rising as I finish patching my wounds. And so we head out, to see what comes next.

Far off in the distance, the trumpeting sounds of many xolanotl calling out to each other reverberate across the plains.