The End of a New Beginning
British International School Shanghai Puxi, Elizabeth White, Fiction: Group 3
A
s Kailey sat defeated on the sand, she was trying hard to block the memories out of
her mind... the memories of the moments that had led her to where she was now... The
memories she would never forget... and the memories she wouldn’t have time to forget.
She thought back to the moment she had woken up, the confusion and fear she had felt.
She clasped a shaking hand to her bleeding forehead and swore violently as she wiped her
stained hands on her trousers. She could see no further than 5 centimeters ahead in the dark,
musty room. She stood up slowly, and then fell back to the floor, feeling dizzy, disturbing the
sand where she had once lain unconscious. “What the...?” She muttered as she sieved the sand
through her fingers. Kailey attempted standing up again, this time succeeding. She extended her
arms and reached all around her, hoping to find a wall she could maintain her balance with, and
then hopefully a light switch. She didn’t have time to find either before crumbling to the floor
again, her head spinning wildly....
Kailey shook her head, trying to squeeze the images out, she looked at the timer seated behind
her and squirmed.
31:52
She was seated against the pyramid wall, her legs stretched out in front of her. She glanced to
her left, to find Charlie looking up at her as if searching her eyes for something important.
It was easy to forget that she had known him only for an hour. She felt like she’d known him
for a lifetime... She couldn’t help but remember the moment they had met, she had thought he was
the one who had trapped her in this pyramid, with no memory of the night before...
“WHO ARE YOU AND WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!” She’d said, trying to cover her fear
with fake confidence and feigned anger. But Charlie could see right through that and remained
calm and unmoving while she spoke, “I HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING TO DESERVE THIS! WH-WH-
WHY ARE- WHY AM-” She fell back to the floor, caving in on herself as she sobbed her way to the
ground. Charlie sat down too, squatting against the wall briefly before giving into his exhaustion
and landing in a heap on the floor opposite, far away and slowly so as not to frighten her.
“Are you okay, Kailey?” Charlie interrupted her thoughts, “Sorry- I... um... I didn’t mean- um...
of course you’re not okay. Stupid question. Sorry.”
“It’s Okay.” She managed, still deep in thought, “I’m just thinking.”
Charlie nodded, and stopped talking.
That’s what she liked about him. If ever there was a man you’d rather spend the last Twenty-
Five minutes of your life with than Charlie, Kailey was yet to find him...
She remembered exactly what he’d said when he had found out that they were going to die...
“I’ve only got forty minutes to live... We’ve only GOT FORTY MINUTES TO LIVE, GODDAMMIT!
What the hell are we doing sitting on our sorry asses feeling sorry for our sorry selves?!”
Kailey sat upright, letting Charlie’s realisation wash over her.
“You’re right,” she had said.
“I tend to do that.” he had replied, a cheeky grin on his face.
Kailey had remained expressionless, “Is this really an appropriate time for joking, Charlie?”
“If this isn’t, then, Kailey, when will it be?”
