This is a short story I wrote for my English class...We had to emulate (change in point of view, surprise ending, etc.) "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce.
Here's a link if you would like to read Bierce's short story beforehand:
link
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Part I
The hands on the small kitchen clock above the stove were approaching twelve; Bailey had been working for hours now—drilling herself with notecards, reading and rereading her notes, trying to retain any information her brain would allow. Biology was her toughest class and she was determined to do well on this test tomorrow regardless of how much sleep she would lose. Exhaustion had been stalking her for hours and now it was taking over. Her vision became blurred; the overhead light seemed to become harsher every minute; every sound was a blow horn aimed directly at her eardrum; every movement she made seemed too fast to be real-as if the world was slowing down, but time was not. She began to doze off, but caught herself right as her head began to fall forward toward her chest. She needed to stay awake. No. What she needed was to take advantage of a few hours of sleep. So, she turned off the kitchen light and with a sense of defeat, headed upstairs to her little bedroom.
Part II
A few hours later she awoke to the loud buzzing of her alarm clock. She sat up, tangled between her sheets, and let her mind catch up to her body. The alarm was still going off and in the bedroom next door her sister, Lena, rolled over restlessly and thought to herself, “Oh, no. That’s Bailey’s alarm,” she sighed, “Mine will go off next and I definitely do not want to get up.” She curled up and pulled her comforter closer to her body, dreading the day ahead.
Bailey finally managed to pick herself up and turn the alarm off. As she stood in the middle of her dark room, she noticed something strange about this morning: it was much quieter than normal; the air felt crisper; even the moonlight peeking through the curtain was different. Bailey tiptoed over to the window and slid open the drapes. Suddenly, she was wide awake--there was snow—at least six inches deep—covering the ground! Could luck really have pulled through for her this time? Did Mother Nature decide to give her one more day to study for that test? There was only one way to find out: She jolted across the room and threw open her laptop. Sure enough, school was cancelled! A huge sense of relief blanketed the entire room, “I’ll just go back to bed for a couple of hours,” she thought, “then I can have all day to study.” Thank you, she whispered out loud, not knowing exactly who she thanking. And she crawled back into her bed to get a few hours of solid, restful, worry-free sleep. As tired as she was, Bailey expected to fall asleep quickly, but there was a faint beeping noise that sounded distant, but loud enough to keep her awake. Suddenly, it stopped; Bailey was asleep before she even noticed the noise was gone.
Part III
Lena, Bailey’s sister had been getting ready for school and was headed to the bathroom to double check her makeup when she noticed that Bailey’s door was shut and her light was off, “Good going, sis, now we’re going to be late for school,” she mumbled under her breath. Lena opened Bailey’s door and walked in, “Bailey,” she whispered, “Hey, get up. You slept through your alarm.”
Bailey rolled over rubbing her eyes, confused by what Lena was saying. Then she remembered that she hadn’t told her about the snow day, “Good news!” she said hoarsely, “There’s tons of snow outside; we don’t have school.”
Lena looked out of the window, “You’re crazy, there’s like an inch out there. There’s no way school is cancelled. Get up already, I can’t afford to be late again.”
Bailey jumped out of her bed to look for herself; sure enough, there was only a thin layer of snow on the ground. And as if to taunt her, a school bus drove by. “It was a dream? But, how? I thought…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence. Everything had seemed so real that she had honestly believed school was cancelled.
“Like I said, you’re crazy,” Lena was getting annoyed now, “Seriously, can you hurry up? We can still make the first bell if you would just get dressed already!”
It finally set in that everything was just a dream and Bailey started racing around trying to brush her teeth and get dressed at the same time. Lena grabbed a couple granola bars for the road and went to heat up the car. Bailey was ready to go within ten minutes and the sisters still had a chance of getting to school on time if they hurried through traffic. Running out of the front door, Bailey slipped on a patch of ice and almost lost all the books she was carrying, but she caught her balance using the lamp post. Rushing, she handed her book stack to her sister and hopped in the driver’s seat. She sped down of the driveway and through the neighborhood, the whole time wishing her dream had been reality. Lena was playing with the radio, and found one of her favorite songs. She turned the volume up to maximum and both girls began to relax and sing along.
About halfway to the school, they crossed the main bridge in town, still speeding. Suddenly the car hit ice and Bailey lost control. Her mind racing, she tried desperately to steer her way back into the right lane. But there was another car headed directly toward them and it was just yards away. There was nothing Bailey could do except brace herself for the inevitable. Right as the two cars should have collided, Bailey felt a jolt of fear run through body; she flinched and opened her eyes. There she was at her kitchen table, surrounded by her school books.
Here's a link if you would like to read Bierce's short story beforehand:
link
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part I
The hands on the small kitchen clock above the stove were approaching twelve; Bailey had been working for hours now—drilling herself with notecards, reading and rereading her notes, trying to retain any information her brain would allow. Biology was her toughest class and she was determined to do well on this test tomorrow regardless of how much sleep she would lose. Exhaustion had been stalking her for hours and now it was taking over. Her vision became blurred; the overhead light seemed to become harsher every minute; every sound was a blow horn aimed directly at her eardrum; every movement she made seemed too fast to be real-as if the world was slowing down, but time was not. She began to doze off, but caught herself right as her head began to fall forward toward her chest. She needed to stay awake. No. What she needed was to take advantage of a few hours of sleep. So, she turned off the kitchen light and with a sense of defeat, headed upstairs to her little bedroom.
Part II
A few hours later she awoke to the loud buzzing of her alarm clock. She sat up, tangled between her sheets, and let her mind catch up to her body. The alarm was still going off and in the bedroom next door her sister, Lena, rolled over restlessly and thought to herself, “Oh, no. That’s Bailey’s alarm,” she sighed, “Mine will go off next and I definitely do not want to get up.” She curled up and pulled her comforter closer to her body, dreading the day ahead.
Bailey finally managed to pick herself up and turn the alarm off. As she stood in the middle of her dark room, she noticed something strange about this morning: it was much quieter than normal; the air felt crisper; even the moonlight peeking through the curtain was different. Bailey tiptoed over to the window and slid open the drapes. Suddenly, she was wide awake--there was snow—at least six inches deep—covering the ground! Could luck really have pulled through for her this time? Did Mother Nature decide to give her one more day to study for that test? There was only one way to find out: She jolted across the room and threw open her laptop. Sure enough, school was cancelled! A huge sense of relief blanketed the entire room, “I’ll just go back to bed for a couple of hours,” she thought, “then I can have all day to study.” Thank you, she whispered out loud, not knowing exactly who she thanking. And she crawled back into her bed to get a few hours of solid, restful, worry-free sleep. As tired as she was, Bailey expected to fall asleep quickly, but there was a faint beeping noise that sounded distant, but loud enough to keep her awake. Suddenly, it stopped; Bailey was asleep before she even noticed the noise was gone.
Part III
Lena, Bailey’s sister had been getting ready for school and was headed to the bathroom to double check her makeup when she noticed that Bailey’s door was shut and her light was off, “Good going, sis, now we’re going to be late for school,” she mumbled under her breath. Lena opened Bailey’s door and walked in, “Bailey,” she whispered, “Hey, get up. You slept through your alarm.”
Bailey rolled over rubbing her eyes, confused by what Lena was saying. Then she remembered that she hadn’t told her about the snow day, “Good news!” she said hoarsely, “There’s tons of snow outside; we don’t have school.”
Lena looked out of the window, “You’re crazy, there’s like an inch out there. There’s no way school is cancelled. Get up already, I can’t afford to be late again.”
Bailey jumped out of her bed to look for herself; sure enough, there was only a thin layer of snow on the ground. And as if to taunt her, a school bus drove by. “It was a dream? But, how? I thought…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence. Everything had seemed so real that she had honestly believed school was cancelled.
“Like I said, you’re crazy,” Lena was getting annoyed now, “Seriously, can you hurry up? We can still make the first bell if you would just get dressed already!”
It finally set in that everything was just a dream and Bailey started racing around trying to brush her teeth and get dressed at the same time. Lena grabbed a couple granola bars for the road and went to heat up the car. Bailey was ready to go within ten minutes and the sisters still had a chance of getting to school on time if they hurried through traffic. Running out of the front door, Bailey slipped on a patch of ice and almost lost all the books she was carrying, but she caught her balance using the lamp post. Rushing, she handed her book stack to her sister and hopped in the driver’s seat. She sped down of the driveway and through the neighborhood, the whole time wishing her dream had been reality. Lena was playing with the radio, and found one of her favorite songs. She turned the volume up to maximum and both girls began to relax and sing along.
About halfway to the school, they crossed the main bridge in town, still speeding. Suddenly the car hit ice and Bailey lost control. Her mind racing, she tried desperately to steer her way back into the right lane. But there was another car headed directly toward them and it was just yards away. There was nothing Bailey could do except brace herself for the inevitable. Right as the two cars should have collided, Bailey felt a jolt of fear run through body; she flinched and opened her eyes. There she was at her kitchen table, surrounded by her school books.
All i know is that i am falling.
I try desperately to save myself, but it's just so dark and dreary...i'm not even completely aware of my body anymore. I just continue spiralling down into this dark oblivion..
Suddenly, there isa small glowing light only about four feet below me. I reach out. I cannot grasp it, though. If i wait long enough, though,i'll tumble right into it.
Only, i dont. Because, right when i am about to make contact i slip away. My eyes open and the only light is the one streaming through my window...
I try desperately to save myself, but it's just so dark and dreary...i'm not even completely aware of my body anymore. I just continue spiralling down into this dark oblivion..
Suddenly, there isa small glowing light only about four feet below me. I reach out. I cannot grasp it, though. If i wait long enough, though,i'll tumble right into it.
Only, i dont. Because, right when i am about to make contact i slip away. My eyes open and the only light is the one streaming through my window...
The words made my breath fall short in my throat, a small whimpering sound went up through my chest. I slowly rose my watch, exactly the time I was to be doomed. The part of the wall carrying the dread words burst open and rats started to crawl in, immediatly gnawing at my flesh, I tried to back away, but the part i had opened up suddenly closes and i was trapped in darkness, I was trapped, I was trapped with no hope off escape and a thousand beady eyes crawling all over my body, wrigglin down my chest and making their way towards my heart. I spun and rolled around as much as I could in the small space, but the rats were persistent, and my blood trickeld all around me, forming in a pool under me. After a while a finally gave up. For all I had done i was payed with my own dead, locked in a narrow passage with rats all around me, the last living things i would ever interact with. I began to sob softly and my final breath flew from my body, I was a limp, lifeless corpse.....