The sun was shining in through the open window. It's blazing heat magnified by the glass. John was sitting with his head in his hands trying desperately not to sleep as the teacher droned on.

He was small and skinny, he had brown hair, which had recently been cut so that he looked like an escaped convict, but his gentle eyes gave him away as a young and generally quiet boy.

He jumped in shock as the school bell rang out.

'Don't forget your homework for tomorrow!' Shouted the teacher to the class. No one seemed to pay her any attention.

John threw his books into his bag, slung the bag over his shoulder and left the room quickly. As he exited the room he joined in the wave of children trying to get out of school. People were shouting and laughing, but he didn't really notice. All he could think of was getting home and sitting in front of his television set to watch his favourite programs.

After a few minutes he was running down the steps of the school into the blazing sun, the crowd began to disperse as it exited the magnificent building.

John stopped for a moment and reached into his bag. He withdrew his I-Pod and attached it to his belt. He put the ear phones in his ears and pressed play. He put his bag back on and began walking home with the music blaring in his ears.

When he reached the little alley he had to walk through to get home, he sped up a bit. He never liked this bit of the journey. It always seemed dark and he had feared darkness for as long as he could remember.

As he walked he got a strange feeling he was being watched, he turned around nervously and saw a rough looking man walking behind him, he had a wild looking beard and was wearing a black leather jacket. John's heart jumped at the sight of him, he didn't like the look of him at all. However, his heart leapt in to his mouth when he saw the man shouting something and speeding up.

He looked away and began to run, glancing over his shoulder now and then; he noticed that the man was also running and continuing to shout. He couldn't hear what he was saying and he didn't' want to slow down to turn off his music.

'Oh no!' he thought desperately to himself.

'Why is this happening to me?'

He looked straight ahead. He could see the end of the alley closing in and he knew his house wasn't far ahead. As the end grew nearer he felt something hit his feet and he was launched into the air. He flew forward several feet and saw a thick, dark tree branch had caught his legs....

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