Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020complete | Page 497

Adventures in the Greater Bay Area
West Island School, Emery, Lily – 12
The Greater Bay Area never really was my only home. I had moved from America to Korea to China, and now
I’m living in the Greater Bay Area.
My family and I live in a small house near the sea, and we always have a view of the incoming ships. It was nearly
the New Year’s holiday, and we all hung lanterns and wore red around the markets. The shops were even selling
firecrackers.
I don’t know why it came then; I guess it shouldn’t be blamed. But one cold chilly night, a roar sounded in the
south and I awoke from a deep sleep. I felt groggy, not sure what had woken me up. It sounded like something
was headed this way, but I didn’t know what.
In my home, we were used to people with the second sight and people who could summon the elements. But
never in my life had I heard such a sound before tonight.
I walked outside into the roar of the midnight air. I tried to be brave, but all I did was shiver and cower. My
teeth soon started chattering, and I felt too cold to move at all.
I waited outside for who knows what. Hearing a rustle behind a shrub, I turned to look and found myself staring
into a pair of huge red eyes.
I screamed. I don’t know why. I think I was too scared to do anything else.
The thing with the red eyes suddenly came out of the shrub and picked me up like I weighed nothing more than
a puppy. Up close, it was huge, with saliva dripping out of its mouth and unnaturally watery eyes with no pupils.
It had four hands, and claws at the end of both its feet and hands.
I was still shrieking as the thing’s stare pierced through me. It seemed to know and understand every secret I had.
The front door of the house banged open as my sister raced out.
“June! Ahhhhhhh!” my sister, Hazel screamed as soon as she saw the monster. She was obviously terrified, and
bolted back into the house still screeching at the top of her lungs.
The thing seemed curious; and although I don’t know when or how I stopped screaming, suddenly I felt less
afraid of it.
The strange creature’s eyes seemed sad, and it also seemed hungry.
“What are you?” I whispered, not exactly sure it would answer.
The creature did answer. But it was in a strange garbled language that I couldn’t understand.
“Are you here to hurt us?” I said, louder and more confident this time.
It shook its gigantic head. Then slowly nodded it. It patted its tummy, and I realised it was hungry.
When a gunshot sounded, I jumped and looked around to see six guards pointing their guns at the creature.
“No! Stop! Don’t hurt it! It’s only hungry!” I shouted at them.
If they heard me they ignored it.
There was another gunshot, and I flinched. The creature howled in pain, gripping the side of its shoulder.
Three gunshots later, the creature collapsed onto the ground, wailing in pain when a bullet pierced its leg.
“NO! STOP! LEAVE IT ALONE!” I screamed, tears blurring my eyes. Even though I had known the creature
only a few short minutes, I somehow already felt a bond between us.