Ethan Clark - Aged 15

It was a cold November evening in the town of Stonemere. Nothing was odd; it was the same old evening for the Smiths. The family of 4 sat at the window waiting for their dad to turn up from his job at the local prison. It was getting late, but they reassured themselves by brushing it off as he had more work to do than usual. It hit 9pm. It was darker than looking in a cave outside and it was dead silent; the town was asleep. Every rumble of a car engine made the Smiths jump right up to the window to see if it was their dad turning up like he usually did at 5pm. Light shows of big, beautiful chunks of sleet fell out the sky, they were white like the floors of the north pole. 

 

It hit 1am, the weather was windy but there were still little random showers of sleet. Finally, the Smiths heard their dad pull up on the drive. Relieved they felt like they'd finally sneezed that sneeze that had been stuck. They all ran out into the front garden; the air was freezing but also fresh; it had this refreshing feeling. The dad stepped out of the car with an unusual face, a worried face. The mum asked in a worried tone “why are you late? Is everything okay?” He answered and explained there had been a massive electrical error at the prison and the gates had opened and released some of the worst prisoners in England. He also explained that he had to stay behind to fix the gates so that more couldn’t escape but he was also on call at any point to catch the prisoners.  

 

It was 5am, the leafless trees were now visible, the majestic clear blue winter sky was slowly covering Stonemere. The dad got a call from Stonemere prison. The good news was they had found all the prisoners except for 1, Barry Edwards. Barry was sentenced 20 years ago as he was a serial killer. Helicopters were out, police from local towns were all out looking for this nasty nutty prisoner. Concern hit them as for all they knew, he could have been out doing what he got locked up for, killing. All they could do was pray he wasn't. 

 

The ice-cold snowy autumn day went by like a racing car, it was teatime. The Smith family sat round the table and had their usual Friday pizza night. Something just didn't feel right, it felt as if something was in the air. The Smiths ate their dinner in almost silence; all you could hear was the sound of a draft of wind coming through the back door. Then all of a sudden, a loud bang, but not just the usual bin falling over, it was a huge bang and thud. The Smiths jumped out of their chairs like their life depended on it, then there was a squeal. The dad, being brave, opened the old back door and grabbed his torch and investigated. It seemed as if someone had shot a rabbit which was weird as they lived in a town. But then he noticed the bush was moving, in fact he noticed that the bush was never in the garden in the first place. He went up to the bush but as he got there the bush had disappeared into thin air. 

 

Midnight approached, the sky was dark like a black blanket was covering the town, the street laps went into energy saving mode meaning most switched off. The Dad got a phone call from his work, the prison, saying the serial killer has been spotted hiding in people’s gardens with a gun shooting random animals but he is also starting to try opening people's doors with the gun in his hand. The dad jumped up and went to all the doors and windows and locked them like it was the end of the world. As he was doing that, he noticed that bush was there, so he drawed all the curtains and tried to not think about it. Then there was a knock at the door. It was some man who looked vulnerable shouting help me, so they all ran to the door and spoke through the letter box. The random man explained he had seen the serial killer, and he tried to kill him but luckily, he managed to hide. The Smiths let the man in and gave him a cup of tea but once again that bad feeling hit them again. The man kept walking around the house, in the bedrooms, the garage, the kitchen, the lounge and the bathroom. But then suddenly, the electricity cut out, and the man was nowhere to be seen. Then one of the sons noticed the man who had come in looked awfully like the serial killer just with a beard on. They then heard a huge gunshot bang in their house, so they all flocked but they noticed someone had drilled the front door into the frame, so it was impossible to open it unless they went into the garage to grab the drill. It hit dad, he worked in a prison. He had heard all sorts of stories, and he didn't like this, so he told everyone to climb out the window and get in the car as the streets were not safe. They then got in the car, but it wouldn't start, the wires had been cut. So, they all legged it into the house and hid in different places around the house. But then the random man caught the mum and daughter and tied them up together and covered their mouths with duct tape and locked them in the garage. The dad and son heard the footsteps of the killer. They just sat there praying but the praying did not work, the killer had them and put them with the others.

 

A few hours went by and they were all still in the garage, the killer was still trying to find their other son. But then he found him and dumped him in the garage. He stood there looking at them with a gun and knife in his hand saying “hahahahahaha”. The family almost accepted their fate and started telling each other in floods of tears that they loved each other. The killer stood there teasing them with the gun. The family begged and begged even though they knew they couldn't change things. There was a bang and knock and then another bang from the front door. It was the police, they tazed the killer and hand cuffed him and put him in the back of a police van. The family cried in fear but also in relief that they were now safe. 

 

The prisoner got a further sentence for another 25 years and such a thing never happened to the family ever again.