Silent Night - The boy lay bleeding on the sidewalk in the rain. He was seventeen years, old and wore a pale blue Sunderland football shirt.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Silent Night

The boy lay bleeding on the sidewalk in the rain. He was seventeen

years, old and wore a pale blue Sunderland football shirt. Printed

across the back was the name `Handley', number 9.

He had been stabbed ten minutes ago. The knife had entered on the left

side of his chest, tearing a wide gap in his flesh. The rain was

driving and any blood that ran from his wound seemed to be absorbed by

the pavement.

He had felt the excruciating pain as the knife plunged into his chest

then the sudden relief as the jagged blade was pulled from his body.

He had heard the words "That's for you scum" and caught the sight of a

black and white Newcastle shirt bounding down the alleyway.

Dale was an avid Sunderland supporter. He had made the short journey

down from Sunderland to watch the notorious Tyne and Wear derby. There

was a fierce rivalry between the two teams and there was a high police

presence at the game.