Somerhill Review 2023/24

THE SOMERHILL REVIEW 2023/24

Bigfoot by Arlo Petrone

One night, the air was denser than the forest itself, and the, usually still, trees were rustling more than those during a thunderstorm.The man took no notice of this godly warning, as he, with his rifle and torch, entered the very core of the deep, vast forest, where no-one had ever set foot before. He shone his torch around.The leaves stirred furiously. He turned round again. Bigfoot.There, right in front of him was the creature of the folks’ word. Stumbling towards him, the Bigfoot came raging at the man.The dim torchlight leading the way, the man sprinted to where he thought was the village. When he was a little way ahead of the beast, he faced the monster. Grabbing his rifle, he aimed. Pull the trigger, and I’m rich. Don’t, however, and I’m doomed. Ready to make the blow, he shot at it. But this beast was underestimated. One hit could never take a Bigfoot down.This monster was like a brick wall. Rapidly gaining on the now hopeless man, the Bigfoot was ripping down anything, within its reach. Monstrous arms flung round like a helicopter, raging on through the forest. The man shouldn’t have gone.The Bigfoot may even turn the village to rubble and dust. Snarling and grunting, Bigfoot, who is sasquatch of the coppice, came charging at him with pure anger and hatred.The man, whose knees were wearing out from this run, was on the brink of death. Weaving his way through the endless wood, the man tripped on a tree root. How much time has he got to live? Not enough. Scrambling to his feet, the man once again ran and ran, until the beast was upon him.The maze of forest muddled the man once more and, this time, he was helpless. Strewn across the leafy ground, the man lay defeated. One gargantuan arm raised and plummeted down onto him, a fatal blow. A sheer pain ran through his arm, as if a dagger had cut clean through. Could this be it? The pain was too much to manage. This was it. Light. Pain. Every second...

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