Going West
Chinese International School , Ku . Austin - 8
Aspark of blue light flashed one thousand years ago in Xian . A monk named Xuanzang spotted the bolt of light erupt from rock . Tiny pieces of rock blew onto his face . Grey sand splattered on him like waves on a beach . Out of the rock emerged a dark shadow which looked like a ferocious beast . Xuanzang felt like his heart was going to explode . Beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks . His grip tightened onto his walking stick . He had never faced a situation like that before .
“ Hi ! I ’ m Michael the monkey .” An adorable monkey stood before him . The little monkey had two large eyes , a small nose , two floppy ears , and a round head . Xuanzang couldn ’ t believe his eyes . “ A monkey that talks ? Extraordinary !” “ What are you going to do ? Are you bored ? Could I join you ? Where should we go ?....” Michael continued to bombard with questions . “ Uh , perhaps you can join me .” “ Yippee !” exclaimed Michael as he pounced in joy .
Xuanzang continued his journey with Michael . Suddenly , out of nowhere there was a loud ROARRRRR !! Xuanzang looked around . Shivers ran down his spine . Everything went completely silent . But quickly the wind got stronger and stronger . The temperature dropped . There was something monstrous surrounding them . Xuanzang held onto his walking stick for dear life , as the winds howled making the trees sway violently .
All of a sudden , a dark shadow appeared out of the blue . It came closer towards Xuanzang and Michael . A ferocious beast about three times the height of Xuanzang stood before him . The first thing that Xuanzang noticed was its four horns and knife-like ears . Its eyes were bulging out with round , diamond-shaped spectacles . It had two medallion-shaped teeth , both blood draining and sharp .
The next thing Xuanzang noticed was the monster ’ s sharp claws , glittering in the moonlight . The monster stormed over and smashed its arms towards the ground , creating marks and cracks that would remain for centuries . Xuanzang ’ s heart beat as fast as a marathon runner . The monster ’ s red fierce eyes led to a rise in hostility inside Xuanzang . The beast lowered its crooked moon-shaped back , raised its long arms , crushed the rocky ground and nearly smashed Xuanzang into a million pieces . Xuanzang was blasted like a rocket being launched . As he bolted into the sky , Xuanzang noticed Michael grab his stick and point it at the bullheaded monster .
Somersaulting through the air , Michael launched himself towards the monster . The fierce beast made a strange expression and a hissing sound . Michael swung the stick in circles and whacked the monster in the face . The monster shook its head and waved its arms . Michael shot it a fearless look , climbed its back and tightened the stick around the monster ’ s neck . The beast ’ s face slowly turned pale . Its eyes widened up as its spirit moved from the living to the underworld .
“ Impressive ! What could I ever do to repay you ?” asked Xuanzang . “ Hmmmm . I would like an endless supply of bananas . That would be good . I could already see myself start gobbling those now ,” replied Michael instantly , with stars in his eyes .
The two walked on and soon came across a graveyard . Xuanzang thought that there was something strange about it as a dark shadow appeared and everything went silent .
All of a sudden , a slimy brown , human body with army-green spots clambered out of one of the graves . It was not a human body - it was a zombie ! What Xuanzang first noticed was the bony hands . The zombie wore ripped clothes which were covered in what looked like blood . It had bulging eyes which were red with fury and looked like cherries that were about to roll out of a bowl at any second .
Slowly , an army of dead zombies rose from the other grave and began to surround Xuanzang and Michael . The army walked towards them . One of zombie ’ s reached out to grab Xuanzang who let out a cry of terror