Page 40 - Cornice Grade 8
P. 40
Survival Story
ter tossing and turning for an hour, sleep finally was the right direction to go towards, mainly be-
came. cause the sun was just rising and I would have
more light if I headed East. However, I soon
In my dreams, I could see myself being charged at figured out that leaving my shelter was much
and chased by a humongous monster. Staggering harder than I had ever expected. I was leaving
along the slippery bed of the evergreen rainfor- the comfort of my shelter, the ready water of the
est, I could see myself going crazy. I then ran like bark tree and a whole lot of memories. However,
a madman and after what I thought was a safe I take risks and trust me, they’re not calculated,
distance, stopped. When I turned to look back, so I headed out anyway. I had made a makeshift
the monster was in my face. I woke up, panting, flask made of the deer’s skin, which I had roasted
terrified and disoriented in the middle of the in the fire to harden. I collected all the remaining
night. Figuring that dawn was still hours away, I water from the bark of the tree and headed out,
went back to sleep. After what seemed like min- also stuffing in what was left of the deer’s roasted
utes, I was woken up by a distant chuffing of a meat.
helicopter. I could not figure out if it had been
searching for me and I never will. However, this After a whole day of walking, or should I say
gave me a mental boost that I needed by indi- stumbling, eating, drinking and resting, I ap-
cating that planes and helicopters were flying proached a patch of cemented ground. As I
around and if I could in any way signal to them looked forwards, I took a few seconds to close
that I was here, I could escape this forest. Getting my eyes and shake my head violently to make
rid of my wild daydreams, I got up. I drank water sure I wasn’t dreaming. It must have been a
from the same bark of the same tree. hallucination, I thought to myself. Then again,
when I opened my eyes, I saw an aircraft of some
During a shocking brainwave after I drank the sort heading straight towards me. This is when
water, I had the most brilliant idea to make a I realized that I was standing on the landing
natural compass. As the sun was just rising in stretch of a runway. A bomb of excitement ex-
the East the shade fell in the West. Also, I had ploded inside me as I leapt out of the way at the
come across a rock on which huge amounts of last second.
moss were sprouting, which indicated that that
side was the Northern side. Now there: you may The four-seater aircraft landed comfortably on
think that I am so stupid that I don’t even re- what was an incredibly short runway. After talk-
member to drink water. However, I have enough ing to the three people inside the aircraft, I fig-
sense to know that the flight distance from Doha ured out that it had been forced to emergency
to the UK is seven and a half hours (come on, of land on this short piece of cemented land, which
course I know that, I was flying there you imbe- was the runway of an ancient airport. The air-
cile). Subtract six hours and you have one and a craft had to emergency land because the winds
half hours left. Then, I must be near Germany. I were too strong. It must’ve been an odd sight for
had read somewhere that the black forest was a the pilots. A deranged lunatic sprinting towards
huge and dark forest (matches description) lo- them and waving them down, but they stayed
cated near the German city of Stuttgart. Howev- anyway. I told them my whole story, from the
er, I had never bothered to find the direction and top to the bottom in substantial detail and they
distance between the two places. agreed to take me to the UK . After waiting for a
few hours for the winds to subside, it was flight
If only I could get there! I headed East. I had no time back to FREEDOM! I couldn’t believe that I
explanation why but I had a gut feeling that East had survived the impossible.
