KS4 SHORT STORIES

KEY STAGE 4 SHORT STORIES

EXCERPT FROM ‘DIARIES OF AN AMNESIC BIOWEAPON’

“Excuse me,” I whispered meekly, “May I ask a few ques…”

She ran out the room before I could finish my sentence.Shock followed by acceptance. Those were the feelings she experienced. The woman had been surprised at seeing me in a conscious state. This meant I had been asleep for a considerable amount of time. Exactly 3 minutes later she came back in followed by a doctor. He wore glasses and looked very messy. His hair was untidy and eyebags rested in their place. His eyes were brimming with excitement though. With his clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, he almost looked more like a scientist rather than a doctor.

“Thank the heavens,” he cried, “You’re awake Mel, it looks like the experiment was a success. Now we have the most dangerous bio-weapon in the world. Not a single person can mess with us anymore. No one can call me crazy and whoever does can just die. This is so exciting.”

“I’m sorry sir. I’m a little confused. Who are you?” A dark shadow cast over his face. The cheerfulness had melted and all that was left was frustration. He whispered a few words to the nurse and then they both looked at me.

“Do you remember anything, child?” the nurse asked signalling towards me. I just shook my head. “Well, this is quite the problem, isn’t it professor?” She looked at the man mockingly. By now I was certain I was not in a hospital and that these two were not a doctor and a nurse. The lady had a higher standing while the man was merely her puppet whom she used to amuse herself.

© Asya Alsaghir Key Stage 4 Short Story

EXCERPT FROM ‘GRANDMOTHER’

My grandmother was a woman with an arching back and wrinkles covering her body.

Near the upper corner of her lip was a small wart that sat there. Her forehead was on the larger side, as was her nose, so her eyebrows were pushed close to her beady black eyes, making her face constantly look angry. Her jawline was soft, but she had beautifully high cheek bones that made her look elegant even when she was nearing 60. She could only speak Hindko and I could barely speak and understand it but that never stopped our conversations from taking place.

“Farah! Come here, hold the bag for me!” she called, and I wandered over to her, lollipop in my chubby hand, going back, putting it in the trolley before coming to her side. She plucked a hand full of fat green chillies and dropped them inside the clear white plastic I gripped onto with both hands.

“Good girl. Go give them to your Ammi.” She smiled and a shiver of pride ran through me—when she was laughing it was usually at me because that’s just how Asian grandmothers were; always complaining about their high blood pressure and the pain in their joints but rarely would she talk about how good a child I was. Instead, she’d compare me to Soraiya or the neighbours’ children.

Her smile was something beautiful, something ethereal. Even if she had lost half her teeth, even if her cheeks would sag more, there was a little glimmer in those small black eyes, this silver light that she shone only to me because no matter how much we fought, no matter how much work Soraiya did, I was still her favourite.

© Sadiyah Khan Key Stage 4 Short Story

EXCERPT FROM ‘RED’

There was a storm brewing when I set off to Gran’s cottage, way off at the edge of the forest, at the base of the mountain. There were large and angry clouds gathering, pushing and shoving each other furiously. I smiled to myself. It looked like rain; calm, cold, cool rain. I absolutely loved it. I drew my kimono closer around me all the same. The wind was biting like a rabid dog.

What I didn’t absolutely love was the hurried secrecy in which my parents had sent me.

“Go quickly to your gran, and give her this box. It has all the provisions she needs. I would make the journey myself, but I must finish our last shawarma bundle order, and your father is busy gardening. I must say, business is booming! Remember, if someone tries to kidnap you, use your red belt in karate” my mum advised me. She quickly ushered me out “be safe!” I was super curious to find put why the urgency. I knew gran was sick, which was unusual in itself, as she never got sick. Seriously, it was like she wasn’t in her late 70s at all. She regularly goes skydiving, surfing, skiing, skateboarding and more. She has 8 million subscribers on her travel blogging WeTube channel, and she founded the multi million business SheepDollz. All this means she is usually pretty healthy, but she had recently caught a cold, and was bedridden. Of course, I wanted to help, but also, I was curious about the box. It was a small one, the sides made of willow. The top and bottom seemed to be made of sarnie wood. I shook it and heard a rattle that sounded like anti-virals or something. I was unaware at the time of what would happen...

© Maryam Abdalla Key Stage 4 Short Story

EXCERPT FROM ‘SEQUELAE’

“It’s fine. I’m leaving now. Thank you.”

Eli stepped off the bus three stops earlier than planned and hurried towards the school, trying to make sure he didn’t start panicking as well. He hated the idea of Eldon being so upset - he hadn’t broken down like this in months - but also feared the attention it would bring. What if they were taken into care? Worse still, what if someone discovered his crime and they were separated for good?

When he got to the medical room, Eldon was pressed against the wall, hugging his legs to his chest and sobbing into his knees. Eli whispered his name, and he lifted his head and reached for him wordlessly. It was just like when he was younger and wailing over a grazed knee or a lost toy, or an unprovoked beating. Eli lifted him up and held him to his chest, ignoring the fact that he wasn’t as light as a five-year-old anymore.

Mrs Hurl had appeared and was explaining what had happened, recommending that Eldon get some sleep, lots of comfort and maybe even a break from school. Eli listened and thanked her, rubbing Eldon’s back as his sobs began to dissolve into quiet snores. Before he could leave, however, his former teacher leaned closer to whisper something.

“Why aren’t you in school?”

© Ameerah Abike Kola-Olukotun

Key Stage 4 Short Story

EXCERPT FROM ‘TSUNAMI’

“Ah Meishu Tsunami!” Chief Hikaru beams and ushers me towards the table.

I take my seat and look at the papers laid out in front of me. From the looks of it, it’s plans to build a new hospital on the Western Coast of Kiyoto. The Council wait silently for me to take it all in and then Haru shoots his hand up.

“Meishu, the Akuma are not stopping, they’re still attacking the Western Coast. We’ve lost one thousand soldiers in the last week and we’ve had to evacuate all those unable to fight to the South.”

I frown. I thought it’d be something like this. A month ago, reports of the Akuma attacking villagers on the Western Coast began flooding in. It was strange, the Akuma haven’t attacked in three hundred years but the reports stated it was a small number and that all the Sei needed was a few gifted soldiers to fight back. A week later, a hundred of my soldiers were dead and I had no other choice but to send five hundred. And now, one thousand of my soldiers are dead and we don’t even have time to mourn. This problem is obviously larger than I first thought.

“Kocho, I would like you to take three of your best flyers and scout the Western Coast. I want accurate numbers of the Akuma and their exact co-ordinates by Suiyōbi. Haru and Rai, I would like you to carry out the building of the new hospital, but I would like it to be built further inland so the chances of the Akuma attacking it are lower. Yumie, I would like you to gather as many skilled Dokueki as you can and teach them how to safely extract and then transport venom to the weapons department. The rest of you, continue to keep me updated on the new trainees and help the evacuees get settled. Thank you.”

© Aisha Ali Key Stage 4 Short Story