Torture House
Harrow International School , Shanghai , Milford , Carlotta - 12
I t was dark .
Xiao Ling was running away ——— fast . She couldn ’ t afford it if they caught her . Not now . Not ever .
She turned a sharp right , jumped over a fallen tree and slipped through the mud into a forgotten river . She had cut her foot badly with a sharp rock in the river and blood was oozing out . No time to complain .
They were gaining . She had to get going .
She stood up quickly and a sharp pain shot through her body paralysing her for a millisecond . But that was enough for them to catch up . She had to run . It wasn ’ t an option . If they caught her who knew what they would do ? They would probably torture her and turn her into a weapon of some kind .
She limped to the edge of the river and tried hopping out but it was no use , her foot shot pain through her with every step she took .
BAAANNNGGGGG !!!!!!!!!!! Her world went black .
She woke to the noise of trickling water . She opened her eyes , it was so bright she thought she was in another world . Then she remembered : “ Last night ” she whispered .
She jumped up forgetting about her foot and fell back down again . “ Argh ,” she groaned . She slowly sat upright and looked around her .
Everything was destroyed .
The city Audweener had been eliminated from existence . A tear rolled down Xiao Ling ’ s face and dropped from her chin onto the remaining earth beneath her . She held onto her arm where she had broken it from flying in the air and falling on the floor from the explosion and slowly turned and limped into the woods opposite the remains of Audweener .
She lingered in the woods a few days grabbing and scrapping whatever she could find until she saw it : The Palace .
It was a giant palace made from green crystals , chrysoprase , that formed wonderful translucent green and sometimes turquoise sculptures . She wandered around the palace speculating every splendour that it contained with delight . It was the most amazing place ever .
“ Hello ,” said a mysterious voice from behind her . She spun around coming eye-to-eye with a man . He had a shaven head that rebounded the sun ’ s reflection , spectacles and a clearly very expensive suit . He was grinning . He was probably in his mid-thirties .
“ I can see you are not from here ,” he added with a very calm tone . He was not particularly handsome . He was rather plain .