Alison

Female | 30s | 3 to 5 minutes
Starts on page 41

EXTRACT:
I make a snap decision
I’ve got to break into the zoo
And somehow get her out
Of this ghastly night air
If I had Dad’s spare set of keys
It would all be okay
But I don’t I say
Out loud as I push my way through
The back door
A blast of wind
Hits me right in the face
As I shrug off my slippers
And in their place
Pull on my gumboots
Striding out into the dark
Through the howling of the wind
I hear her howling
Through her cage
And the rage I feel
Spurs me on through the back garden
And I begin to run
Pushing into the rain
Heading to the outer wall of the zoo
When above I hear a snap
From out of nowhere there’s a thud
Back of my neck
And I fall to the ground sliding into the mud
For a moment I’m stunned
Dazed with the pain
My face is pressed into the dirt
I raise my arm to feel the back of my head
My hair is drenched from the force of the rain
And the force of the branch
Where it fell has left a split in my scone
I can feel a sharp stinging
From the cracking thud
As the split and the hair
Congeal with the blood with the blood with the blood
It’s not too deep
I can tell
As I pick myself up
Survey the branch where it fell
It’s large it’s large—not too large not too large
I know I’ll be fine
But this time I tread more carefully
On the path leading to the wall
I’m already drenched
And that momentary rush of adrenalin
I felt when I woke
Is waning
The pain in my head
Is strong is strong
Won’t be long before I choke
Damn that lazy heartless bloke

MALTHOUSE THEATRE SEASON

"★★★★★ A JEWEL LIKE WORK ... EXTRAORDINARY" – ArtsHub // Read more