Nature's Fury | Teen Ink

Nature's Fury

October 29, 2019
By Anonymous

Chaos… dust… smoke. That’s what he woke up to as he found himself stuck in the mound of debris of shattered picture frames, cracked ceilings and walls, and broken glass and furniture. Now, realizing that the huge boom and shaking of the ground was “The Big One” and still in shock, he scrambled in the dark to reach for the flashlight under his bed. It was nowhere to be found, and his last hope of reaching his glasses also vanished in the dark. The whirring sound of the helicopters above his house made him overjoyed, and he thought at least I am alive, at least I can do something to distract the rescue team, so they can see me. Desperately reaching for something, he found a sharp piece of glass, that pierced his left palm which was now covered in blood. Within a few seconds, he realized that it was the family picture frame that had fallen next to him. Holding the broken frame, he tried to wave at the helicopter, and ran towards the sound. As he was running, another huge piece of the ceiling collapsed on top of him completely.


The author's comments:

For this set piece I was practicing repetition, and voice. I tried to mimic the style of John Cheever, as he tries to write in third person, and uses “he” instead of “I”. In one of his set pieces, I liked how he used authentic tone, chilling detail, and frame-by-frame motion.


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