If someone saw my life six years ago and saw my life now, some might say it was nowhere near as exciting as my life used to be. I used to live for thrills and adrenaline-pumping activities. Back in the summer of 6th grade, I spent the entire summer at a tennis camp in Spain. We were in a hilly area, in the mountains and far away from the city. Unlike the hills here in California, these hills were what some might call “slum”. It was not the nicest neighborhood to be in; the houses had a gloomy face on them, and the streets have seen better days. After the long hours of practice, we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. After dinner, a group of friends and I always play contamination tag. We always let the fastest person in the group become the initial tagger. We had a 15 second grace period before all hell broke loose. I quickly followed one of my friends toward the dirt field in the back, but we got split up. I quickly snuck under the fence and got myself on the street. It was dark, and I found myself in the middle of the street. The street lights flickered, the road was full of cracks and imperfections. All I heard was an aggressive dog barking at me, the loud crickets, and my feet impacting the ground as I kept sprinting. I started walking in the street, trying to catch my breath. I noticed all the broken houses around me, staring at me as I walked by each one. I suddenly heard a loud clunk, I instantly knew the clock hit 11 pm and the front gate was now closed. I could no longer get back in through the front, I would have to climb the fence, or escape under the fence through the small openings. I heard shuffling ahead of me, but I didn’t see anything beyond the dim light. Without notice, two people started sprinting at me. 

“Damn, they already caught two people and were on the street roaming around just like me”. I instantly turned around and started sprinting downhill. I didn’t look back and just tried sprinting away as fast as I could. I saw the fence I snuck under and quickly started climbing it. I hopped over and got onto the dirt field. I sprinted through the dirt field, escaping in the dark alleyway near the field. I turned around and saw them still stuck on the street. Almost as if they were the guards protecting the street, chasing unwelcoming roamers through the night. I decided to sneak around back to the dormitories and snuck up to the roof to catch my breath. As I climbed the tile roof, the dark blue sky revealed itself. My eyes gazed towards the sky, the bright stars, and the full moon. Even in a place as downhearted as this, there was a beauty found within. My eyes turned towards the tall mountain next to us, wondering what the view is like from up there.

I was suddenly interrupted by yelling from down below. I look down and notice the mob of people below me. I made my way down the roof and snuck around back to the dirt field, and out the fence. Once again, I found myself in the street. This time it was darker, and the street lights were dimmer, the flickering light stopped working and it became dark. I was alone in the streets and was completely out of breath. I heard a loud bang and became completely shook. I couldn’t tell if it was a gunshot from the mountain above me or a firework. I look up, and notice the sky is gone, the view was gone and all I saw were the tall trees on the mountain closing in on me. The street was no longer welcoming roamers, they didn’t need their “guards” to chase me out. The place became more eerie and ominous. I found it strange, no one was chasing me in the streets. I look at my watch and notice that it's 10:57. “CRAP,  3 minutes before the entry to the dormitory closes”. I had no time to rest and started sprinting, noticing a slight blur as I made my way down the street. I snuck under the fence, sprinted through the field, and ran inside the dorm building. I sprinted up three floors of stairs and got to the dormitory rooms. I noticed everyone was chilling in bed already, with the AC on. Meanwhile, I was drenched in sweat, still stunned from the menacing streets, and freezing from the cold night. I may have survived the tag game, but who’s really the winner here?