Fallen, Chapter I

Hunted;

I'm breathing, and yet I'm not. I'm living, yet in a void. I'm running from evil, but not getting any further away.

My breathing is deep, my eyes filled with tears. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe what my owns eyes are seeing is real. What trickery is this?

Another day at school. Another normal day. Then these people come and destroy my life.

What am I now? What is Australia, if this school has been taken like this?

Its cold, yet sunny. I crawl on all fours, desperate to get away from my foes. I can nearly hear their voices, calling to me.

“Sarah,” I can almost hear them whisper. “Sarah…”

I was a normal girl. I was at a normal school. That’s over now.

They came into the school, mid day, guns blaring. No idea who they are, no idea what they want. They just shot at us. Killed as many as possible. I think they captured Mary. Killed most of the others I’ve seen. Perhaps I am all that left…

I'm in the Science class room, high school is great, lots of rooms, but being a year eight isn’t, don’t know the way around as well as I should. I guess it doesn’t really matter now. I hide under a desk, I need to hide, I need to escape. Their close…

I hear their foot steps. Why am I hiding? They will find me. It’s only a matter of time…

I hear foreign voices in the hall way. No idea what language, but its harsh. I don’t like it. And their close.

“Pssssss.” I turn my head to see a boy at the window, gently sticking his head through. I don’t know him, he looks fat, wears glasses. But his a boy. His a kid. His being hunted, like me. I can just tell.

I nod my head, and he beckons to me. Slowly, I begin to crawl across the class room, desperate not to make any noise. Desperate to survive.

“Come,” he whispers. “Hurry.” I'm so close to the window, to escape…

“OI!” I hear, as they have seen me.

“Move,” says the boy, as he shoves the window to help me out. ‘GO!” I jump out, and for some reason, he jumps in. “Get away!’ he cries, as the two, I see now, what looks like Koreans, approach.

“Don’t-“ I begin, but I see something shining in his palm. A deodorant can.

“See you in hell,” he murmurs, and a lighter appears from his sleeve, which he lights instantly. He begins to spray the can; the flames hit the spray, giving off a ray of fire. It scorches the first one, and the second cowers back, he’s trying to shoot the boy, but the boy advances. I see now my rescuer is short, he could be In my year. And he is familiar. A familiar, chubby face. Yet so athletic, so merciless, so unlike his looks.

The other Korean man drops to the floor, obviously in pain, but the boy does not stop, he keeps spraying until the two of them are covered in burning marks, cowering from him, beaten, defeated.

The boy drops his deadly weapons and takes the army vest from a man. The Koreans must have been soldiers, or are soldiers, attacking us.

My rescuer takes a knife from the belt; a big dagger, probably used for hunting. He looks down upon the men, and with not so much as a squirm, moves to cut the throat of one, killing him. He does the same to the other, and pockets the knife. He slings the vest over his shoulder, and calmly walks over to the window.

“My name is Karl,” he says, slinging his bulky frame over the window sill, and out into the grass. “We need to go, now. The screaming will attract more of them.”

“I'm Sarah,” I murmur. “Your blee-“

“I know,” he says, wiping the blood from his face. “The blood isn’t mine.”

We slowly sneak around the science block, dead carcasses of children are strung around the school. We see more Korean men, some of them shooting at children.

“Can you go and-“

“No” he says shortly. “Too many, I can’t save them.”

We move on, slowly getting around the science block and making our way to English block. I see my drama teacher is being dragged by a soldier. By this stage I want to vomit…

“Were here,” he says, pointing around the corner. I move my head their. The boys toilets. Of all the places to hide.

“Here?” I ask. He nods.

“Here” he confirms. I see two soldiers walk pass.

“If I try to make a run for it they’ll see me,” I say. Karl jerks his head.

“Go now!” he roars, as he leaps out of hiding, running at the two soldiers. I see him with a gun; he must have taken it off the soldiers he killed before. He shoots one In the chest and dashes to avoid shots from the other. All to save me…

I make a mad dash, me dress flapping in the wind. The don’t see me, they have attention on Karl, who had dropped another Korean soldier. More run after him though, I can see he his face is beginning to look worried, scared.

I skid into the boys toilets front and chain the gate. They can still see me, I think. I must go inside.

I open the door to a massive shock.

Maybe twenty, thirty children. Ragged and worn. Some of them I know. Some of them I don’t. But they survived. Someone saved them all.

One of the bigger children, a boy, comes up to me and shakes my hand.

“Karl bought you here? He saved you?” I nod my head.

“He got some of the soldiers to chase after him.” The boy nods his head, to, but its shaking rapidly. He looks to be year ten, a skinny, boney type, the opposite of what Karl looks like.

“Michael,” he says to me, glancing at the other children.

“Sarah...” I say. “What is happening-“

“We don’t know.” Michael puts down my hand, and slumps down near some other boys his age. Its awfully cramped. “These Korean guys come into my Math’s class, caps the teacher, takes a couple of the girls, then starts shooting at us. Karl came, he killed em with a broken bottle. They didn’t see ‘em coming. Tells anyone he ain’t dead to get up, tells us to run. We go and follow him, he takes us hear, tells us to hide, comes back a few minutes later with a few other peoples. His gone ‘n done it about four times now. That kid saved us all.”

I slump down next to one of my primary friends, Madeline. She survived, too. Shes shaking, and her clothes are wet from tears and blood.

“Karl saved-“ I begin, and she nods.

“Tackled the soldier. Those people are sick. They tried to- They tried to- tied me-,” Madeline bursts into tears; I wrap my arm around her to comfort her.

“Don’t cry, Mad, its over…”

The thirty of us huddle together, waiting, silently, for Karl to return. Questions pound in my head.

Why did he save us?

Who are the soldiers?

Why are they attacking our school?

Is Karl safe?

The door bursts open.

“I got ‘em,” says the blood trenched, Karl. His glasses are completely smashed, his shirt ripped.

“What happened?” asked Michael, the older boy who had talked to me before. Karl chuckles.

“Drew ‘em into the bush, killed three, wounded two. Circled back here. Is the girl-?”

Karl’s eyes drew towards me. I felt awkward, he kept on staring, I tried not to make eye contact. “You made it, then, Sarah?’ I nod my head shyly. He smiles a big smile.

“Good.” A little eight year old approaches Karl.

“Did you find my sist-,” Karl covers the boy’s mouth.

“I'm sorry, Chad, I did all I could, but she was long dead before I got their. Nothing I could have done.” The boy turned his back on Karl and broke into tears.

‘You promised!” he yells, and hit Karl in the leg. Anger lit up in Karl’s face, and he pushes Chad over, causing him to cry even harder.

“Stay the hell down!” he roars.

“No!” I yell. I stand up, enraged that Karl could attack little kids.

“You forget who’s in charge, who saved all of you!” roars Karl.

“Who the hell said your in charge!” said Sarah. Karl looks at me venomously.

“This little baby hear seems to want agree with me,” says Karl, as he waggled a gun in front of my face. Karl notices the crowd looking at him. With hatred.

I sit down, and he sighs.

“Were all on the same side, all of you.” Karl begins to walk around the room. “But I saved you, so I demand respect. “ I gasp as he comes close the boy.

“You get us killed, boy, and I'm gonna shoot you. Your not gonna get us killed. Your not gonna get me killed.”

He looks out of the boy’s toilets window, and begins to walk over to me.

“Sarah,” he says. “Keep this boy safe. Comfort him. I’ve gotta go get his sisters- Well, I have to go. She was a friend of mine. I just can’t let her- Them-“

“I know,” I say. “Just don’t be long.”

My saviour disappears out of the bathroom window, and I am left with thirty children who have all been through hell.

And the question hits me.

Who the hell is Karl?