24 June Week 3 - Survival

Venus was now panting and gasping for air as he swayed from side to side in desperate hope of some water of food, anything that would keep him alive. He was considering eating a piece of his backpack if it went to the extreme level, but he reserved that urge for only life and death situations. At the moment he knew he could still last about a day more. As the day began to get even more hotter and the stench of Venus’s unwashed clothes became unbearable, the boy new that he could do nothing at this point in time. All he could do was pray. He collapsed to the floor, screaming in anguish and pain. Looking into the horizon all he could see were the endless plateaus and plans that lined the distance. Venus now sat cross-legged and digging through his backpack. Ever so often he would find the remains of a sandwich or some popcorn, which he stuffed down his throat. Venus was now really considering eating his backpack, when in the distance, he caught the sight of a man, or woman, he couldn’t tell. Now with a glimmer of hope, the boy stood up with his last amount of strength and walked closer and closer to the figure. As Venus approached the man he realised the man wasn’t like him, wasn’t like anyone he had ever seen before. The man was tall with a strange pattern of hair on his head. Venus looked up at the face of the creature, unaware of its danger. He put his hand out, hoping to make a friend with this creature, but instead the monster growled and looked down arrogantly at Venus. “What is this object, and where has it come from.” questioned the unsure creature in a foreign language. Venus was perplexed as what this had meant, but tried to decipher it the best that he could. He assumed the creature must be willing to help him, but he was wrong. Putting out his hand, Venus was sure the creature would shake it back, but instead, the monster got hold of Venus’s hand and gripped it tightly. Venus’s hand was aching, but it wasn’t too bad, so he smiled a fake smile, but without hesitation the creature gripped his hand harder. Venus heard a crack and was sure that his bone had just snapped like a toothpick, but instead it was from the floor. It was moving, and cracks were appearing, and no, it wasn’t because of an earthquake but because of something much more sinister. Trembling Venus looked down, only to see mummified hands escaping from the barren land. “Wha. What on earth, please someone help me, please!” pleaded Venus in a petrified voice, but it was no use, no one heard him. The hands were now creeping up to his legs, slowly and gradually pulling him into the ground. Unable to move his legs he desperately tried to wriggle free, but his efforts were all in vain, there was nothing he could do but wait for his destiny, the hands looked merciless. He knew he was going to die; it was his fate!

Author's Note: Sorry that I haven't included a MacGyvered solution yet, that wouldn't really even occur to my character except as a (very) last resort, so that should come towards the climax. CRASH! Sending up debris for quite some distance, his pod smashed into the forest floor. When the dust cleared, he remained hesitantly inside for several minutes before slowly exiting into a new world. Juxtaposed against the commotion of the crash, the silence and stillness was oppressive. Orion glanced around at the lush, exotic foliage around him. High above in the canopy, a curtain of green and blue obscured the sky from view. The underbrush was a tangle of creeping vines bursting with tubers and flowers and fruit and things Orion couldn’t even identify. As he trudged out of the ruins of his ship, the sharp, bright metal stood out starkly against the springy ground. Tickling his nose, a breeze brought unknown scents, reminiscent of a tropical rainforest but somehow strange. Slowly, cautiously, the avian creatures began to settle back in the trees, bright feathers rustling in the zephyr. Orion sighed. Well, as nice as this place was, he had a meeting at 0800 Galactic Standard that he would rather not miss. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the transmitter he kept for emergencies - it had batteries (the primitive thing), so the power disruption wouldn’t affect… Something was scrambling his signal. Something was scrambling his signal! But that was impossible… the only inhabitants of this planet were primitives… it just didn’t make sense… For once, Orion felt uncertainty stirring, but he pushed it down. Slowly, his eyes swept the wreckage as he attempted to take an inventory of his supplies. What did he have? Nothing, as it turned out. Agitated, he began to turn slow circles around the clearing. This kind of thing wasn’t supposed to happen to him! He was famous, rich, powerful! He wasn’t supposed to end up marooned on some stupid backwater with no resources… except for some berries. They were small, bright green, and shiny. Orion snatched one eagerly, scoffing it in one bite and reaching for another. They tasted sweet… sickly sweet… almost like… sleeping syrup. Orion crumpled to the ground.

Even though it seemed hopeless, Breeze felt like there was more to this place than met the eye. She took herself off on a walk, going nowhere in particular. The wind blowing in her hair, she sauntered through the clusters of pine trees. “Still here?” she heard Gust’s voice behind her. “Yes,” she said confidently, turning to face him. “I’m… not giving up.” Breeze surprised herself with this answer. She was usually a quitter, and pretty impatient. But she wanted to belong with someone, and it was that which motivated her to keep going. “Ugh,” Gust moaned. “If you’re really that determined to snoop around here, follow me.” Breeze smiled. Finally, she wasn’t being brushed aside. Gust led her along a twisting path, knowing every bush, tree, and stone. At last, they reached a maze of dark, rocky caves. “In here,” Gust told her, passing her a flaming torch. “It’s safe.” Breeze was sceptical. Could she really trust him? I’ve risked so much already, she thought. I guess I’ve got nothing to lose now. Lyre cooed anxiously at Breeze’s ear. Breeze stroked her. “It’s okay.” she whispered. They entered cautiously. Breeze looked around her. Towering, dark cave walls loomed high above her head. Embedded in them were sparkling gems that somehow managed to maintain an alluring light in the pitch black tunnel. The flame on her torch lit up her curious face, and the call of bats echoed in the distance. “This is why it’s called Peridot Peak.” explained Gust, pointing to a green gem in the cave wall. “Peridot was the first gem discovered here. Then people started finding more gems, like amethyst and ruby.” He touched a milky pink stone next to him. “And this is my favourite, rose quartz.” Breeze smiled. “It’s my favourite too.” she said. Rose quartz was the stone on her parent’s pendant, so she had become quite fond of it. Gust showed her more and more gems, twists and turns and secret tunnels. As the day rolled on, they studied stalagmites and stalactites, and tried to name as many gemstones as they could, searching for hidden treasures. Just as they were about to head back out, a loud screeching erupted from behind them. “Bats!” Breeze and Gust cried in unison. Shrieking, dozens of bats came swarming into the tunnel, their wings beating hard. Breeze and Gust waved their arms in the air as the bats swirled around them. Breeze remembered that she had an ocarina in her satchel, which she could use to mess with the bat’s echolocation. She pulled it out with her left hand, while the right one was still waving in the air frantically. She put the instrument to her lips and blew a loud note. The bats screamed and flooded out of the cave entrance. Lyre twittered in relief. Breeze and Gust took deep, heaving breaths. “Wait…” Gust muttered. “Why were the bats leaving the cave? Aren’t they nocturnal?” he strolled to the cave entrance, Breeze at his heels. She stared out into the distance. It was now very late, and the moon shone brightly in the sky. “It’s pitch black!” Breeze gasped. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” she turned to Gust with a scowl. “You hate me so much that you led me into this dumb cave and now it’s dark and we’re stuck!” Gust looked offended. “No, I swear! I completely lost track of time.” he insisted. “Now what are we going to do?” Breeze sighed. She heard a faint growl from outside the cave. There were probably wild animals that would love to make a late night snack of them, and their torch had long since burnt out. They had to build a fire to scare any predators away. “We need to build a fire.” said Gust, as if reading her thoughts. “I have a pocketknife in my satchel.” said Breeze. “I could strike something against it like flint and steel, but I’m not sure what…” Gust nodded. “I’ll go look for some branches and sticks to fuel the fire.” He walked off into a tunnel on the left. Lyre chirped at Breeze. “What is it?” Breeze asked her. Lyre hooked her talons on the string around Breeze’s neck and pulled it gently. “Of course! My pendant is made of unpolished quartz!” she cried. “Good girl, Lyre!” Breeze pulled the pendant out from underneath her shirt. “Now, what to use as kindling…” she paced up and down as she thought. Her boot caught on a rock underfoot, causing her to trip unexpectedly. An item went flying out of her satchel. “Oof!” Breeze groaned as she crashed to the floor. She dusted off her skirt and scampered around in search of the lost item. “My journal!” she exclaimed, spotting the leather-bound book in a corner of the cave. Then she was hit with an idea. “I can use the paper as kindling!” Breeze ripped a few blank pages out and teared them into shreds to help make the fire. She scooped them into a neat pile, and got to work striking her pocketknife against the quartz at the end of her pendant. A spark flew onto the pile of paper, and it roared to life, orange flames blazing against the night. At last, fire.

Into the wilderness Chapter 1 I go to the unknown I closed the book and warmed my hands against the dancing fire. I sighed deeply and watched the glowing embers.I watched the endless scene of mountains. We had made it past the border and had trekked 6km north. The bitter North wind slapped my face. My friend Elian Iwaedal Tyrak was setting up camp and his falcon was dutifully guarding us . I felt fur underneath her tired feet. It was Stormeye, my loyal snow cat. A snowcat was a large cat with fur like snow leopard ones. There was something wrong. Chapter 2 I play dodgeball with Mr dragon An aroma of dead meat wafted through the bizarre landscape. Dead, burnt trees. Bones of their long lost owners scattered the ground. We had reached the peak of the infamous arachnid mountain. There was a cave and inside icy breaths blasted out of an unknown mouth. We ventured deeper into the cave. The menacing moutians loomed over the our tiny beings. Shards of delicate light raidiated out of the sun. A cold breath breathed and the animals scattered... Ice ,cold, drain and death were all I could think about. The cold was more intense. Then we saw the sight that would stay in their minds until a century passed. There was a giant dragon. It was no ordinary dragon. Its smooth white scales were as shiny as moon beams. Its horns were chestnut brown. Its eyes stared down at the us as though daring to fight… I was quite startled. But I had no choice. The dragon blasted ice out of its mouth. We both doged the blast. But where the blast had landed the was a few metres of icicles. This dragon was dangerous. We were doging its blasts quickly. Suddenly I spotted a couple of dry sticks and dashed to it. I rubbed it together furiously. “Come on …”I muttered to myself. Finally, to my relief a roaring fire was created. The dragon stopped firing and backed away. We took the oppotunity to ecsape. Just as we started to run, a silvery mist slipped into one of my empty botanical bottles. Chapter 3 unexpected mutiny We had a little rest stormeye was munching on a bit of grub which was … unusual. I decided not to care. But then I heard stormeye growling. He pounced on to me aggressive. Elians falcon was trying to attract stormeyes attention. Stormeye swiftly raced for the falcon but stopped. He seemed to be in mental combat with his bad side. “Wait a minute, is that herbilicus storn ?”I blurted out. The shrub stormeye was eating a minute ago was indeed herbilicus storn. That had caused him to be aggressive. I quickly mixed out the antidote and smeared some on stomeyes snout. This worked. I jumped into the air with joy. But little did I know there was danger. Chapter 4 the do are die chess match The next day we hiked through the shriviling forest just 5km away from civillisation. We were stoped in our tracks by a bizarre creature “I’m called the eternal vermin to pass my lands you must play a simple game of chess”he said in a very squeaky voice but he made the ‘’simple ‘’ game of chess sound menacing “But…” we glared at him.“if you loss you die.”He made the die part sound like a casual stroll in the city. In front of our very eyes the so called “enternal vermin” conjured a chess board floating in mid-air. My mouth hang open it wasn’t everyday that you see a creature inviting you to a do-or-die-chess game. During the chess game I couldn’t help wondering why the thing was grinning. Things weren’t going that well. When it captured half of my chess pieces. I peered under the chess board without it looking it was carefully manipulating my chess pieces, I was enraged!! He was cheating. I pulled out my hunting knife and shouted”enough is enough”Elian had realised the trick too and had pulled out his sword. Stormeye growled and elians falcon flapped its wings ready to reach top speed. The eternal vermin just laughed and conjured a glowing magic shield. I threw my knife and it just bounced of and hit my shoulder. I cursed in agony as the vermin cackled. Just as I fell to the forest floor I fell in to a trance my hands gripped the bottle with silvery mist and… uncorked it and the full power of the ice dragons breath blasted out and evaporated the eternal vermin. Suddenly the birds were calling and the forest was greener it was no longer the shrivilled forest. The forest gods spirit was with me. I heard the birds rejoice “the curse has been lifted!” Epilouge These are the last words I shall write about the expedition 6 years ago: why settle when you have a lifetime of memories in the wild? Dearest reader, the wilderness is a place where you can connect to the land please use it wisely.

Alexandra gripped the staircase, trying to walk to the main deck. “Alexandra” came with a dainty voice. She groaned. “What Diana?” she hissed. Alexandra turned around to see her beautiful sister's horrified face. “Are you wearing a man's tunic, never mind, you need to come back down, it's not safe for us up here! The waves” she whimpered. Alexandra rolled her eye’s. Then her hand slipped, her body crashed to the floor. She gripped her hand, looking at it she saw it was covered in blood. Diana groaned. Then a wave smashed into the ship spraying water all over the sisters. Diana screamed. Alexandra grabbed her sister's hand dragging her undercover. She searched for the problem, the main sail was being pulled down, almost tipping the ship over. She saw her brothers trying to heave a heavy crate of… the sail rope! “Jewel” screamed Alexandra. She grabbed the very sharp hair piece out of Diana’s hair. Clutching her bleeding hand to her chest. Her pet leopard bounded up to her. She grabbed Jewel's side and pointed to the boys. Jewel pulled Alexandra along, keeping her on her feet as the boat rocked. She ran over to the rope, ignoring Marcus screaming at her. The sail rippled and the ship spun out of control. Something hit her on the head, pain booming. The ship was leaning over the sail trying to get free. She started hacking the rope, cutting it. The rope snapped and the sail set back into place. Alexandra rested against Jewel. The pain settled in. Finally these stupid hair things were useful.

“Baa”, the goat screamed as it rushed to me like a bull charging with all its strength. Luckily, I managed to jump to my right side and get out of the way of those nasty horns. The mountain goat was fast on rocks but not as fast and agile as me on track. This fortunately made me stay alive a bit longer than I expected. I never knew my reflex was that good. After running a few miles, I stopped and noticed it was no longer behind me. I caught my breath for a while before continuing on the track. When I stopped, I realised a roar was coming from the other side of the creek. I did not want to know what it was so continued on the track. As I was walking, I noticed several monkeys on coconut trees. But I simply went forward and ignored it until I learned my mistake. The monkey was jumping on the coconut trees to make the coconuts fall on me. I used my super keen eyesight to dodge the coconuts. I ran away from the cheeky monkeys. Further down the tracks, I saw more trees formed like a hall and the track underneath. The leaves were crunching as I moved every step cautiously. Heading towards the end of the hall of trees which looked like a river or main creek. As I was getting closer to the water, I could feel the damp soil dragging me down like mud but much, much slower. I peered out onto the water when I saw something dark and brown heading in my way. Could it be… Yes, it is but how is that possible? I shivered as the hideous and most frightening creatures came hunting for me. The cold breeze went behind my back. The mints in my mouth melted every second faster than the last… It was on my tail. I ran as fast as I could the way I came. But it still followed until I lost my breath. I gave up and turned around. It was the biggest monster I have ever seen in my life. It was an unbreathing moment in my life. It had grey fur like a normal bear, but its face was golden and bright. It was the Kranses Bear the one in the legend. The one who faced the famous Greek hero Hercules. In one of his quests, he meets face to face with this certain bear. Hercules’s quest was to rip the fur of this bear and bring him slayed. But I was no hero. I barely could fight a goat with horns. How on earth will I beat this nasty rare bear without dying myself? “Well here goes nothing”, I exclaimed. I cannot outrun a bear who has my scent. I definitely could not fight him. I would have no flesh in less as I can say RUN! So, I used the oldest trick I knew to act dead in front of a bear. Of course, that sounds stupid but I didn’t have a better solution

Chapter 7 Guashino, Andrew, Wanda and Kelly set out to look for the soldiers, or find Taushenjoonga and protect him. They walked for a while in silence. Wanda was lingering at the back of the group picking as many of the native plants as possible. About an hour passed. Suddenly, Guashino yelped and ran over to something hidden in the undergrowth. Andrew ran to see. Guashino was cradling a giant snake’s head in his hands. It had been shot several times. “Pollyanna.” Whispered Guashino. The snake was breathing. Taushenjoonga did not like the visitors. So far, all they did was shoot him, yell about blowing up his territory, and make several attempts to kill him and the other creatures in his territory. But these visitors were different. The other visitors were wild, vicious and had no respect for life. But these ones seemed to be honestly concerned for the long, scaly one. They offered it food. One even went down to a stream to get water. He silently crept down from the branches. Wanda was stroking the giant snake, trying to reassure it, when she yelled in fright. Guashino and everyone else came running back. “What’s wrong?” Gasped Andrew. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Taushenjoonga staring at him. “Get down!” Yelped Guashino. “No eye contact! No sudden movements!” Taushenjoonga leaned closer to Kelly, sniffing her all over. Kelly’s face scrunched up when she smelt the giant predator’s terrible breath. Andrew lunged forward to try and grab Kelly, and yank her away from Taushenjoonga. The monster growled at him, and fixed him with a stare. Andrew stayed in his spot. Kelly slowly lifted up her hand to Taushenjoonga‘s nose. Andrew screamed internally as his daughter reached up and began patting the nose of the creature that had tried to kill them on more than one occasion. Taushenjoonga leaned closer. He almost seemed to purr. But Taushenjoonga was confused. Why did these visitors show submission, respect, and even affection to him if the others only wanted him dead? Taushenjoonga‘s train of thought was shattered by a loud explosion. He roared in fury as he leapt back up into the forest canopy and leapt from tree to tree toward the source of the sound. “KELLY!!!” Raged Andrew. “WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!” Kelly looked at him with a stare. “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!! GOING UP TO A WILD, MAD CREATURE AND POKING IT ON THE NOSE!! DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!” Kelly reached up and poked her father on the nose. Chapter 8 Guashino, Kelly, Wanda and Andrew hurried through the forest. Guashino had his bow drawn, and at every noise he snapped his head in the direction. They came to the clearing. It was the same place where they had first met Guashino, and when Kelly barged Taushenjoonga off into the ravine. Taushenjoonga was growling ferociously at the commander, who was smiling quite smugly. His men were at a dynamite detonator. He waited until Taushenjoonga was right at the edge of the ravine. “DETONATE!!” He bellowed. The edge of the ravine exploded, and Taushenjoonga was sent tumbling down into the ravine, only to be caught by the vines again. “FIRE!!!” Roared the commander again. All the soldiers began firing and shooting at Taushenjoonga, who roared furiously. Most bullets missed, while some found their mark and burrowed deep into Taushenjoonga‘s flesh. Poor Taushenjoonga bellowed in pain. The soldiers then lit several fuses of dynamite, and threw them down. They exploded mid air, snapping the vines that Taushenjoonga was holding onto. Taushenjoonga howled as he fell out of sight. There was so much smoke and dust nobody could see a thing. When the dust and smoke finally cleared, Taushenjoonga was gone. It was a quick, clever and fearsome plot meant to kill. Guashino drew his bow and began madly shooting at the soldiers, who opened fire with their guns. For Andrew, the following events seemed to happen in slow motion. A soldier fired. The bullet flew out of the barrel of the gun, mercilessly flying straight towards… A small boulder, missing Andrew by a good 2 meters. But then the bullet ricocheted straight off the rock, burrowing deep into Andrew left leg. Andrew yelled in agony and clutched his leg as it folded beneath him, sending him falling down onto the ground. In his unbearable pain, he heard somebody shout, “Wheee! I hit somebody!” Before he was dragged away by Guashino. Andrew awoke back in one of the treehouses of Guashino’s village. He moaned as the pain of his leg being moved rippled through his body. Guashino was standing over him. He stuck three fingers in his face. “How many fingers am I holding up?” He asked hurriedly. “Um, four?” Replied Andrew, still delirious. “Maths isn’t your strong suit, then.” Muttered Guashino. He poked Andrew in the leg where he got shot. Andrew yelped, but then stopped. “Hey, wow, it doesn’t hurt that much.” Guashino nodded. “Mm. I rubbed some of our healing cream on it. Wanda also took out the bullet while you’re asleep.” Andrew rubbed his head and tried to sit up. “You’ll be alright. The bullet didn’t go in too deep.” Just then, Kelly burst into the room. “Um, guys! We got company!” Guashino swore in a native language and began to help Andrew up. “Quickquickquick, we gotta GO, GO, GO!!” Shouted Wanda from outside. Andrew eventually, with Guashino’s help, made it down the ladder and onto the ground. They were just about to rush for freedom, but something cold and metal pressed against their head. It was a gun. “Well, well, well.” Said The Commander. “Fancy seeing you again.” He sneered as he ordered his men. “Tie them up.” He barked. But before they could do that, a downpour of arrows flew from above. The villagers were fighting back! But the commander was quick to respond. He aimed his gun and fired at a rope bridge. The rope bridge collapsed, sending the people hurtling down onto the ground. Some clung onto the rope bridge, and some stayed where they were, but most ran off into the forest. There were a series of short, sharp CRACKS and then several bodies slumped to the ground. Oh. Kelly screamed and looked away. “STAY STILL AND SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!!” Yelled the commander, not sure if he was yelling and them or the locals. Guashino was not going to give up without a fight. While the commander was busy shooting his people, with his hands tied behind his back, he rubbed the ropes against his belt, feeling around for something. Finally, he found it. It was a sharp blade, made from a particularly vicious looking claw. He had forgotten exactly where the claw came from, possibly one of the giant eagles that flew around up in the mountains. He rubbed the rope against the blade, and eventually it was cut in half and dropped off. He struggled and kicked free of the soldiers holding him, and lunged over to the commander, who was now busy rounding up his village. “LET THEM GO!!” He screamed as he crash-tackled the commander to the ground. The commander landed on the ground with a pitiful yelp. But before Guashino could do anything further, he was lifted up and put in a headlock by one of the soldiers.

Fred enjoyed the days at sea. He was used to the movement of the ship now, and he enjoyed the nights, were they told stories about their adventures over a fire. Soon afterwards, they neared the end of the known maps. ‘We’re here at last mates,’ Captain Ryhander bellowed, ‘the edge of the known world. Are we going to back out now?’ ‘No!’ bellowed the crew. ‘Are we going to tun back?’ Captain Ryhander shouted. ‘No!’ shouted the crew. ‘Will we go on?’ Captain Ryhander yelled. ‘Yes!’ yelled the crew. Then, they started moving again. Little did they know that not all of them would come back alive. Fred climbed up to the crow’s nest as they cut through the water. He could see for miles around. The sky was blue, and the ocean like a pane of glass. The sails billowed out from under him. It was just him, Harrier, the sky, and the big blue ocean. He looked down, and saw the crew milling about underneath him, doing their jobs efficiently and quickly. The entire scene felt wonderful. It felt like he had been caged in the little village of Danner, and now was free. Harrier screeched, and Fred jerked back into reality to see a land mass up ahead. ‘Land ahoy!’ he shouted down. There was great excitement in the air, as the crew all crowded to the prow of the boat. Fred climbed (and tumbled) down to the deck. Soon, it was in sight. It looked magnificent. There were trees as tall as the mystic things in books called skyscrapers, and as thick as houses. A beach stretched for veeps around. It was calm and felt like the perfect home. This must have been the Ember Jungle. Then, a terrifying shriek cut the air, and Fred fell back in terror. He wasn’t the only one. The Lemoroy triplets fell, one on top of each other from the rigging. Shirly drew 8 daggers, each between her fingers. Dr Barry turned white. Jack drew his guns. There was a long silence. Then, Paul shouted, ‘lower the anchor! We’re close enough!’ Gary thundered over to the anchor, and tossed it overboard. There was a muffled clunk as it hit the ground. ‘Lower the row boats,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘we’re getting off this boat and onto that land.’ ‘No disrespect Captain,’ Paul said, ‘but that would be extremely unwise. Whatever that was, it sounds deadly.’ ‘That’s why I intend to get on the land,’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘so I can battle the beast face to face.’ ‘Aye,’ shouted the crew. With that, they left Valiant, and rowed to the shore. The beach cool under their feet, as they walked up. Fred took out his dagger. He noticed others taking out weapons too. Harrier perched on his shoulder as they entered the forest, and Captain Ryhander took the lead, macheting through the forest. The shriek sounded again, and they headed towards it. Shirly stayed behind, to watch the ship. After an hour of walking, they came to a clearing. The shriek came, and Fred pushed aside some leaves to find a kitten perched on a stick. ‘Aw,’ Fred said. The kitten mewled, and licked itself on the paw. Fred reached out to pick the kitten up, and Leena cried, ‘Don’t!’ but it was too late. Fred grabbed the kitten with his right hand, and a huge mouth closed over his hand. Two grotesque eyeballs stared up at him. The creature was oval shaped, with small tubby legs, and one long hand perched on the top of its head. Fred realised that the ‘kitten on a stick’ was a tongue. Then, the burning began. Fred screamed. Chapter 7 The creature shrieked, while keeping its mouth shut. Paul ran to Fred’s side, and started to hack at the little thing’s head, while Harrier clawed at its head. Fred continued screaming, and tried to jerk his hand away, but the creature was jerked with him. It screeched louder, and the hand grabbed his face and dragged him back. Paul, giving up on slashing it, prised his knife under the mouth of the small beast, far away from Fred’s hand, and gave a jerk up. Fred yanked his hand out, and Gary smashed the creature. Fred’s hand was burnt, red and blistered. Dr Barry cooled the acid burn (for that was what it was) with water, cleaned it of any leftover acid, and wrapped it. ‘This land is dangerous captain,’ Massie said, ‘we should turn back now!’ ‘Aye,’ Jack said. ‘We came here to map the land, and we’re going to map the land!’ Captain Ryhander said, ‘But anyone too chicken can go back to the safe little ship, and stay there. You got that?’ Just then, a scream came from the ship’s direction. Fred froze. That sounded like Leena! ‘Come on!’ Fred yelled, and trying (but mostly failing) to ignore the pain in his hand, he dashed to the ship, with the rest of the crew in tow. When they reached Valiant, they were greeted with a terrible sight. Three giant wormy things were surrounding the ship. They had no eyes, and their mouths were circular and had sharp teeth sticking out of them. Their bodies were a pale shade of pink, and covered in a clear kind of slime. ‘Ballian gramhookers!’ Massie, Nate 1, Nate 2, and Nate 3 all yelled at the same time. Leena was struggling with another of the wormy creatures on the sand of the beach. The ballian gramhooker had its mouth latched on her leg, and was slowly becoming a red colour. Shirly was digging dagger after dagger in its body, and the creature was bleeding a violet substance. Gary rushed it, and slammed his hammer on its body. It shrieked, as its body split in two. The two halves instantly grew heads and tails, and started attacking Gary. Suddenly, an eerie sound came from the jungle. The ballian gramhookers stopped their assault at once. All 4 (now 5) dove into the sand, and tunnelled away. ‘Supplies!’ Captain Ryhander bellowed. ‘Aye,’ Massie bellowed back. She swam out to the ship, and took a quick look around. She came back looking grim. ‘All supplies gone, and the ships in no condition to sail,’ she said, ‘we’re stranded here, on this island.’ There was a long silence. ‘We’re stuck here with no idea about what lives here, with no food, no water, and no supplies except the ones we had on us, and two of us are injured! How could this possibly get worse?’ Then, the floor opened up underneath them, and, screaming, they plunged down into the abyss.

The bright blazing sun squashed down on me as I walked with heavy feeble feet. My stomach rumbled loudly like thunder. I was supposed to find the emerald not walking around with a stupid shovel and a camel that stops every minute for a break. I thought maybe I could dig and find something useful on my journey. I dug and dug endlessly until I collapsed on to the sand. I felt something hard on my head. I dug again to find not just more sand, a glamorous treasure that shined more brightly than ten thousand torches. Suddenly, a booming voice came from the chest. An immense genie came out of the majestic chest. I was so shocked my mouth drooped wide open and I whacked my face twice so I could know that I was not dreaming. "Young person, I will give you five wishes but be careful you only have three." In a moment a humongous sandstorm formed and carried me. I screamed and only sand came in. I held the treasure chest like as it was my heart. "Hey genie, I am ready for my first wish, make me live!!!"

She thanked the train driver and stepped into the train station. Now all she needed to do was to go North. Kitty thought for a moment, all she had was a magnet from the train, a jumper and food. And none of those could help her, they were all useless objects, or were they. Then a memory blossomed in Kitty’s mind, “The Magnet!” she cried, to no one in particular. Magnets, She thought, They always point to which way is north. It was a scientific breakthrough, well, for Kitty at least. She’d never paid attention to anything her science teacher had told her when she went to school, and back then she never thought that it would help her, well, it did. “Thank you, Mr Spencer, I’m sorry I never really paid attention to anything in science.” Kitty whispered under her breath. Then Kitty placed the magnet on the concrete train station, it turned several times, trying to figure out which way was North. Then it stopped, and Kitty stood up, staring in the direction that the magnet was pointing at, and this is what she saw: Snow, white, cold, empty snow. There were mountains too, tall, white, lonely mountains, “No,” She said to herself in disbelief, “No, Olive can’t have thought me to go there, just No.” Kitty turned and headed back to where the train had dropped her off. But there was no train to be seen. She staggered over to the bench and lay there, crying her heart out, “Mama! Papa!” she cried, but her dead parents couldn’t help her now. After a while, Kitty was sleeping soundly, dreaming of her old life, where she was happy. She slept through the night, through the rain and snow, through the train arriving, through the loud sobs of a child. She only woke when the child's tears stopped. She sat up, and wiped her own tears away, and there sitting on the edge of the concrete dangling their legs over the edge was a small girl, with dark-blonde hair and a small suitcase. “H-hello?” Kitty stuttered, nearing the little girl. “H-hi.” The girl stuttered back, turning to face Kitty, her piercing blue eyes full of sorrow. “What is your name? Mine’s Kitty.” Kitty asked, sitting down next to the girl. The girl turned to look at Kitty once again, “M-my name is Jana (Pronounced Yana)” “Why are you here? Where are your parents?” Kitty asked, looking around searching for Jana’s family. Jana’s eyes began to flood and she leaned into Kitty, burying her face in Kitty’s cardigan, “They hate me, they said I had to be a good girl so they sent me here and laughed and said, “Let’s see this spoiled rat try to survive out there”, but I have been a good girl, I was playing and I broke the telly and then - and then they didn’t even come with me!!!” Jana cried, sobbing loudly into Kitty’s cardigan. “There, there, it’s alright, you can stay with me, but - but first I have to complete a mission. Would you like to come with me?” Kitty put her arms around the child, hoping to comfort her. Jana’s little head nodded, “Will you be my Mama?” she asked hopefully. Kitty smiled and nodded back. “Let’s go.” And the two girls stepped into the crackly snow. The two had talked all day, Jana was quite the talker, she told Kitty about her pets and her humongous family tree. Until the sun began to set and Kitty had to stop her, “Jana, why don’t we find a place to stay tonight, Yes?” Jana nodded. Then pointed at the closest mountain and happily said, “Can we sleep there?” Kitty almost fainted when she saw the cave. What if there was a bear in there, or bat’s, anything would be better than bats, but she had to agree, there were no other caves anywhere nearby. “Can you climb?” Kitty asked, looking down at the 5-year old. She nodded. And they began to climb, slipping at any movement they made, but finally they reached the cave, and lucky for them, it was bear free. Kitty laid out the soft blanket she’d taken from the orphanage, and the thin pillow. Then she searched around for sticks and once they’d been found, she lit a fire, as her dad had taught her when she was five. Then she took out the food. One cheese and jam sandwich, Kitty ripped it in half and gave the bigger half to Jana. They both ate hungrily and then they tucked themselves into bed while Jana sang one of her favorite lullaby’s, “Now the day is over, Night is drawing nigh, Shadows of the evening, Steal across the sky. Now the darkness gathers, Stars begins to peep, Birds and beasts and flowers Soon will be asleep.” Both woke the next morning hungry enough to eat a horse. And they both sat around the charred sticks that used to be a fire, and Kitty rummaged through her bag searching for breakfast, but none could be found, she opened her arms, and Jana ran into them, crying with hunger. How would they ever survive now? Without any food. How?