Category: Year 10-12– SHORTLIST
Shania Cura First, it was her hands. Then, it spread, a malignant thing, to her arms. Her feet. Her legs. Everywhere.
It was strength.
Piper felt the dry heat blow, enveloping her. Sunshine greeted her, the temptress she was, and she
adoringly traced the rays with her eyes skywards. Heaven called to her. With all her ardor, she willed to
respond. She’ll climb her way up if she had to.
She shot up.
Her breath hitched. Her hands itched. Something fiery coursed hotly in her veins, throbbing until tears
gathered in her eyes. The land, barren as it was, flooded with possibility.
She’ll climb her way up if she had to.
A way out. A sudden, startling answer.
She moistened her lips. Sucked at her teeth. Braced herself. Thought of ways she’ll reach heaven. Her
eyes scanned the measureless land. Bush. Sand. Shrub. Tree. Piper’s faith dwindled as she turned and
found herself in between the dip of the land – a narrow valley, two rocky walls enclosing her in nature’s
cruel cage. She traversed down this narrow path, looking to make her ascent until it pooled with cool,
blue water, disturbed by her mindless arrival.
Piper stilled. The crisp cold water felt divine against her aching feet. Her determination vanished for a
sweet and blessed moment. The water, inert from stillness, allowed her to see herself.
A big, hulking creature, hardened by nature’s ferocity, stared back, not unkindly. Piper couldn’t
remember how long she’d been here for. A person – a creature – unraveled in front of her and she
could not help but notice how she caught herself, drunk on the dizzying delight of what it meant to
survive. Triumphant in her savagery. Strong. Unfamiliar. Curious.
Piper liked this unfamiliarity. Heartened, she kept her thoughts where she could lose them, turned on
her heel, and pursued the path she’d passed before. After a while, hope again bloomed, hot and pulsing
against her chest as she found small, protuberant steps in the stratum. She was a long way down. But
this was a start.
She decided her ascent on the steps, all hands and feet and force as she slowly clambered up the rock
wall. The hot roughness of rock against her palms grounded her. Sediment groaned and crumbled away,
complaining the unnatural weight. Soon the protrusions in the rock became smaller, and she escaped
certain death through her driven agility.
Fright overcame her on one fateful step as it crumbled upon her ascent. Piper let out ragged breaths,
shaking despite her absurd composure. She’d withstood thirst, she’d withstood hunger. She can
withstand instability, so heaven help her.
Her desperation meant that she couldn’t afford fear. Piper dismissed her vulnerability, steeling herself
and felt again the fictive promise of heaven as she made one slow step upwards. Warmed by the
fervent sun, she continued on, and on, and on until there were no steps left.
Her effort brought her halfway up the ravine’s rock walls. For a ridiculous instant, she laughed in
triumph and regarded the bright blue sky so unreachably close to her. Tears supplanted her laughter.
Safety was so far down.
With strength Piper had never known, she attempted one last, desperate step. She slipped. Heard the
deep groan of the earth. Its last protestation. Before she knew it, she was falling, plummeting down and
safety quickly retreated as it saw the large, broken pieces of crumbled earth pursuing the same path.
Piper crashed hard and painful where water met land. Something warm and coppery filled her mouth.
Her body burned and she felt as if though she sizzled in the cool, disturbed water, no longer blue or
inert upon the disturbance. She laid there, broken, struggling against the weight of survival. An amused
breath escaped her. Laughter bubbled, inflating her chest. It hurt. God, it hurt. Escape felt foreign. Felt
far away. Felt just like heaven. Piper opened her eyes and realized that it felt much, much more like
futility.
Carynne Koh Scattered across the black canvas of the night sky were bright stars and a full moon, illuminating the
cobblestone road Cora walked. The only sound to be heard was her shuddering breath. She pulled her
dark hood closer to her body as she crossed the road and quietly knocked on an inconspicuous door.
After a moment, the door creaked open, and she soundlessly slipped inside. Taking her hood off, she
removed a picture frame from the left wall, pulled the lever it had concealed, and waited.
A quiet tick…tick…tick could be heard as gears turned, separating the wall to reveal a dark corridor. The
strong stench of rotting flesh stung her eyes, but she was used to this, and continued forward
undeterred as the wall closed behind her. Reaching the end of the corridor, she entered a laboratory
where Doctor Bennett was drawing a vial of blood from a deceased body in a large refrigerator.
“Is it ready yet?” Cora said breathlessly.
“Soon, Miss Robinson.” the doctor replied, handing her the vial of dark, rich blood.
“I’m growing weak, I could barely make it here Doctor. I’ll take the serum now, even if it’s incomplete.”
“No, it could kill you! I’ve never dealt with this kind of…ailment before in my years of experience, but
I’m close. Wait one more week, and I promise it shall be complete.”
“Your years of experience are all I have! You’re my only hope, Doctor! It must be complete next week,
for I fear I shan’t make it any longer” she shrilled.
“Yes, yes, don’t fret. Now, are there any new symptoms?”
“Fangs.” She said curtly, flashing a glistening pair of short, pearl-white fangs.
“Well, that’s certainly a development.”
“I must return home now, before my husband notices I’m gone. I shall be back next week, you must
have the serum ready!” she said, finishing off the last drop of blood and smacking her lips.
“I shall, Miss Robinson.”
Two nights later, as Cora was drifting off to sleep, she was jolted awake by an inscrutable, insatiable
hunger. It was a hunger she had never experienced before, a hunger like no other. A hunger that didn’t
growl in her stomach but roared in her soul.
She snatched her hood and darted out into the stormy darkness of the night. Like a bloodthirsty bobcat,
she galloped through the slick streets on all fours, the sound of hooting owls only making her hungrier
and hastier. As slaver slobbered down her mouth, the only sound she could register was the blood
gushing through the vessels of every man, woman and child living in Somervale. To her, it was euphony;
the sound of sweet nectar. But the only person who knew her secret was Doctor Bennett. She had to go
there.
She battered the door down. Sensing the rush of blood in the laboratory, she broke through the wall,
and ran through the unlit corridor where Dr Bennett was shocked to find a hooded figure bearing a pair
of long, mature fangs.
“Mi-Mi-Miss Robinson…please…allow me to prepare a fresh batch of blood for you to drink. Y-You’re
not used to having fangs.” he stammered.
“I need it. Now.” she hissed, following the petrified doctor to the refrigerator.
But alas, Doctor Bennett only received cadavers once a month, the exact time it took for Cora to drink
the blood as she came weekly to work on the antidote, and this just so happened to be a day before the
next cadaver was due to be delivered.
As he opened the refrigerator, he suddenly remembered this, and turned to Cora, saying “I must
retrieve the vial and needle, Miss Robinson.”
“Give me twenty vials.”
“Yes, of course, Miss Robinson.”
Reaching his worktop, he turned around, and saw Cora staring hungrily at the lifeless body, drivel
dripping down her chin. Furrowing his brow, he grabbed his half-completed serum and the sharpest
needle he owned. He tip-toed to Cora, whose back was still turned.
Taking a deep breath, he plunged the needle deep into Cora’s neck. A piercing screech filled the room
as Doctor Bennet witnessed Cora’s fateful transformation which would terrorise the quaint village of
Somervale for centuries to come.
Dante Joyce A Surgeon’s Nightmare
By Dante Joyce
Dr Colin Gardner was relaxing in the Staffroom, thinking about his nice holiday coming up. The hospital
corridors were quiet although the lack of noise discomforted him. There were only a few patients
remaining, as the others were being relocated to a newer hospital down near the river. The lack of
patients felt strange, but this was occurring due to the place was being knocked down. Some of the
walls were damp and unrepairable, with a sickening black fungus growing on certain walls and caused
lung problems among the patients.
Suddenly, a siren from an ambulance blasted through the Staff room windows. He peered out of the
window, as a speeding ambulance stopped at the front. Four paramedics wheeled in a patient through
the front glass doors towards ER. Colin had been asked to remain for this patient, so he went to start
immediate surgery. He was surprised that the patient had a long piece of shrapnel impaled in its chest.
He had no identification and the logo on his blue coveralls suggested he were an electrician.
Colin and the nursing staff cut the clothing around the large piece of shrapnel, Colin began the
procedure of removing the shrapnel when he noticed how rubbery the patient’s skin felt. The tip of the
scalpel broke up against the patient’s skin, Colin was shocked by this, so he tried again with a new
scalpel but it happened again. The patient’s eyes were milky white, it’s mouth was dry and they
appeared to have no oesophagus.
“Is this a joke? This can’t be a person!” remarked Colin.
“What do you mean? I saw them walking around before the incident!” replied one of the paramedics.
“Well, I can’t pierce their skin or anything!” announced Colin.
“Well, can you explain why they still have a pulse?” asked one of the paramedics.
Colin examined the patient’s pulse, they had an irregular beat pattern suggesting he was almost dying,
although his skin was cold as ice, which only a deceased person would have in this situation. Colin
examined the sides of the wound, a yellowish substance seemed to have filled the entire wound. Colin
examined further by pushing the shrapnel away from one side of the flesh. He was shocked by what he
saw, the patient had no visible organs and seemed to be filled with a pulsating goo.
The other staff remained quiet with their mouths wide open as they looked at the discovery. Colin left
the operating theatre towards a pay phone, he called the Police. He told them everything, but the
operator was surprised and seemed to think it was a prank. Colin convinced them it was not, so the
operator then decided to send two police officers to validate his claim. The staff were outside of the
operating theatre discussing what they thought the patient was. The patient began to move, with the
piece of shrapnel slowly being pushed out by the sticky yellow gunk. One of the paramedics walked
back into the operating theatre and they stood there, surprised beyond their imagination. Suddenly the
large piece of shrapnel flew through the air and pierced the paramedic’s head. The staff heard a loud
thud from inside the operating theatre, and they then decided to investigate.
Colin heard a scuffle coming from in the operating theatre, he walked slowly towards the entrance of
the hospital. A police cruiser rolled up to the front of the door. He led them quickly to the operating
theatre. Suddenly two of the nursing staff are thrown through the operating theatre’s doors towards
them. Their spines snapping like sticks against the thick wooden doors. The patient walked out, with a
gelatinous tentacle swinging around in random directions from out of their injury. The two officers
didn’t hesitate and continued to fire upon the patient, emptying their clip. The bullets ripped and
teared at the patient’s chest causing it to collapse in a heap.
The two officers were shocked by what they had seen and immediately called in reinforcements. An
ambulance and several police cruisers arrived quickly. The new paramedics quickly loaded the corpses
into the back of ambulance to take them to the new mortuary. Colin sat down by the road’s curb and
watched the ambulance being loaded, the thought that something didn’t feel right began to overflow
his mind. Before he could act, the ambulance drove off.
“Apparently there is some sort of alien in the back?” remarked the driver as he drove down the road.
“An Alien? Umm...” replied the paramedic as he turned around and noticed movement from one of the
body bags.
The END
Catherine Bolland My civilisation was a secret, hidden deep in a forest. No one was allowed to venture out of the woods.
Unless, of course, you're assigned to a person or persons that had started to spread our stories again.
Lucy, Brianna, and Emily were my latest case and tonight was my night to strike.
When I arrived at Lucy’s home, her birth-humans were about to leave. “Bye, Lulu! Be good while we’re
gone okay?” The larger female yelled up to the window, Lucy leaning out of it to smile and shake her
hand repeatedly at them. I took my chance and floated through the open window while she was
distracted by the automobile driving away.
“Yikes, I’m shutting this window, it’s getting windy out there,” she muttered, closing the window and
rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself, unaware that it wasn’t wind at all. I took a seat on top
of the dresser and watched as the girls formed a circle on the floor.
“What should we do first, girls?” Lucy questioned, opening a packet of sugar snacks and passing them
around. After a droning discussion, they decided on a list of activities, each of them just as boring as the
last. That is, until their final one, ghost stories. Emily had taken the stage at this point and shushed the
others who were bickering over who won the last game.
“Be careful of how loud you speak, you may awaken the forest spirits,” her voice was eerie and lured
me in, “Legend says, forest spirits hunt for girls and boys that are being too loud and then BAM!” At her
last word, she jumped towards the girls, the two letting out an exaggerated scream before returning to
laughter.
“Hey, that’s the forest next to the school, isn’t it? We should totally go!” Brianna exclaimed, Lucy’s eyes
lighting up with excitement as she nodded her head. It didn’t take long for them to reach the road and
just a bit longer to reach the forest. Perfect, now all I had to do was get at least one of them into the
forest so that I could erase their memory. But that’s where my perfect plan fell to pieces.
“You’re just a chicken! Go in!” Brianna yelled at Emily, making Emily gasp dramatically before firing back
herself.
“I’m not a chicken! You’re the chicken here, it was your idea anyway…” After another group argument, the girls decided on a game called paper, scissors, rock to decide who would go in. They readied themselves, shaking their hands in the centre of a makeshift huddle. By their reactions, I gathered that Lucy lost. She stood at the edge of the forest, took a deep breath before sprinting inside.
I followed after her easily, watching as she ran deeper and deeper into the dense woods. Her sprint came to a halt as she reached a clearing. I floated closer to her but something strange happened. She started to leak. Liquid dripped from her eyes and her body shook. I stopped in my tracks and had to recollect my wandering thoughts. I tried moving closer again but when she fell to the floor, I couldn’t find it in myself to harm her. I made myself visible and floated to the floor, trying my best to offer comfort, but she jumped away at my touch on her shoulder.
“Hello, are you lost?” I asked, trying not to scare her again. She only nodded in response and stood up. I
smiled at her and held out my hand for hers, beginning to guide her back the way she came. She
eventually began to talk as I told her about my people. I know I shouldn’t have but it was the only way
to keep her calm. As we reached the entrance, I could hear her friends arguing again. I flew up to sit on
a tree branch as I watched her run towards them. They bombarded her with questions, asking if she’d
seen anything. Lucy looked back into the trees and we locked eyes before she replied.
“No, nothing, they’re not real.”
Jemah Kelly “Mummy no!” the shrill voice of a young girl could be heard. “Night time is when the monster come
out, what if they take me just like they took Scorpius?” Mother looked at her child, a flash of sorrow and
grief flashed across her face before returning to the sweet, calm face any mother should put on when a
child asks a question they will never understand.
“Oh honey, the monsters aren’t going to hurt you, they seem scary, but when you get older you’ll
understand and you wont be scared anymore. Granny isn’t scared of the monsters, they are friends and
one day she will meet up with them and she will see Scorpius.” How can a mother tell her daughter that
she will never see her best friend again. “The monsters took Scorpius so he could protect you, he will
always look out for you and protect you.” She could see the confusion in her young daughters face as
she let this information sink in. She slowly began to relax into her mother embrace, her eyes, previously
jumping around all over the place looking for ‘monsters’ now showed that she was deep in thought,
absorbing the information like a sponge to water.
“What do you mean mummy, the monsters took him and he can’t help me, I can’t see him. I miss
Scorpius.” The mother’s gaze shifted towards the sky, looking at the various night stars framed by the
never ending darkness. In the cool October air she pointed her finger out to the west, right along the
horizon.
“Sweetie, you see those there red stars in a line over there?” The young girl squinted her eyes and
followed her mothers finger, suddenly her face lit up.
“Yeah, the really bright red ones.”
“Yep, those are the ones, now you see the really bright white stars in a line along those red ones?” She
saw her daughter concentrate for a few second before a look of understanding crossed her face and she
nodded. “What animal does that shape look like to you?”
“A snake,” the young girl replied with confidence, “or maybe a scorpion,” she added with a little more
hesitation.
“That is indeed a scorpion. All the stars in the sky form different shapes and pictures called
constellations,” the mother paused for a moment, “that one is called Scorpius.”
A look of utter joy filled the young girls face, “really!” She exclaimed, “like Scorpius, you were right
mummy, the monsters aren't bad, they sent Scorpius to protect me.” her face fell, “I wish he could
protect me by being next to me, why does he have to be so far away.” One day she would understand
why, although understanding isn’t something that can be gained, for no one understands why such a
beautiful boy couldn’t be here with his friends and family.
“Why don’t I show you some other constellations,” the mother filled in the silence, trying to push out
the feeling of sadness from both their thoughts.
“Yes please! These conslations are really cool.”
“Constellations dear,” the older woman replied with a smile. “Well,” she paused, looking through the
sky, “you see that one just below Scorpius, the one that looks like a smooshed rectangle?” her daughter
nodded, “that one is called lupus, it’s the wolf constellation.” Her daughter was deep in thought, tilting
her head to look at different angles.
“It looks more like a horse than a wolf,” she spoke in a serious voice.
“I know, sometimes the people who names them are a bit weird,” the girl’s mother replied with a laugh.
“5…4…3…2…1… LIFT OFF!” The large metal tin can shook with the force pushed behind it and a silent
preyer was spoken by the girl inside, these things always had a bit of danger to them. Eventually, the
large contraption stoped shaking and slowed to a smooth path,
“Well Ms. Hudging, welcome to zero-G, keep us updated.” The sound of a microphone turning off
clicked into the headpiece. The young girl was now much older, much more full of understanding as she
looked out over the vast landscape before her,
“Well Scorpios, long time no see.”
Jadeyn Feng The Divorce
Nobody understood Ellie Jackson. She didn’t play in the playground with the other kids, or soccer in the
yard, or practice with the rest of the school band for the upcoming talent show. She was always sitting
on the bench in front of the classroom among the rows of school bags, hunched over her blue notebook
possessively, scribbling away. Mason definitely didn’t understand Ellie Jackson. He watched her out of
the corner of his eye as he dug around in his bag for his water bottle. Mason could already feel his face
scrunching up. That notebook was a source of great mystery among the fifth graders.
“I bet she’s writing about who she fancies,” Katie had whispered not-so-quietly the day before, as soon
as Mrs Harper left the classroom momentarily. The children turned to watch Ellie as she, like clockwork,
took out the infamous notebook hidden under her worksheet as Mrs Harper left, writing in it once
more.
“Nah, I reckon she’s writing a book,” said Newton, craning his long neck, trying to peer at a page from
the opposite end of the classroom.
Brendon twisted around from his seat in front.
“Who would write a story for fun?”
Mason didn’t know; neither did anyone else, but then Mrs Harper returned with a stack of worksheets,
and everyone hurried back to their seats to face the front.
Other than the occasional whispers that crept through the playground, nobody cared enough to
investigate further. Mason took a swig from his water bottle, watching Ellie scribble away. Just what
was she writing in there? Mason felt itchy. His curiosity gnawed at him, hungering to discover
something no one else knew about. So, he leaned over and tried to make out the messy scrawl of
something that looked like a script of a play.
“what’cha doing?”
Immediately, the notebook snapped shut in his face, making him jump. He turned to face Ellie giving
him a scowl that could cut through iron. Mason raised his hands above his head and took a small step
back, just to be safe.
“Sorry.” A pause. “Is that for a play?”
Ellie frowned and hugged the notebook to her chest protectively.
“What’s it about?” Mason continued, apparently oblivious to her stormy mood. But Ellie stared at him
for a while, before giving a sigh and handing him the notebook. She told him about Rosa, a knight who
fought griffons for a living, and how she fell in love with the wizard Rick from another world, and they
had a kid and went to fight monsters.
“I’m reading it out for the talent show,” Ellie said, brushing a few blonde strands out of her eyes. Mason
read about how Rick and Rosa stayed together even though they were from warring countries.
“It’s like fantasy Romeo and Juliette,” Mason said.
Ellie’s face scrunched up, scowl returning as she snatched the notebook out of Mason’s hands.
“No, it ends happily.”
And she turned on her heel and stormed off.
Over the next two weeks, Mason didn’t really talk to Ellie; she always seemed to leave in the opposite
direction as soon as she saw him. However, on the day of the talent show, Mason saw Ellie walking with
her parents to the assembly hall, except that Mr and Mrs Jackson were walking ahead stiffly at a quick
pace, with an awkward gap in between them as if they were avoiding touching each other. Ellie was
trailing behind, her expression a little sad and resigned, but when she saw Mason, she gave a small
smile and ran over.
“I changed the ending of my script,” she said, handing him the notebook.
Mason read about how the heroic knight Rosa and the wizard Rick had to separate as Rick had to return
home, but not before both of them giving their daughter a pendant that allowed her to visit them
anytime, with the promise that they both loved her very much. With a start, Mason looked up from the
book. There, around Ellie’s neck was a necklace that he had never seen before. Mason handed the
notebook back.
With a smile, the two of them headed into the Assembly Hall.
Chris Jo Curious creatures
I needed to be a little bit closer.
A bit closer meant over the fence, past the sign that said NO ENTRY and right up to the wire.
You’re mad, said the voice in my head.
Well maybe I was. But I was desperate to get a good report in English. A picture of a cute monkey, on
the front cover just might make the difference.
Then I saw it…
A small weird exotic creature was making its way through the bush into the trees. It had four legs and
pale green skin.
It made its way up the trees and stopped at the peak of the tree. Curiosity took over me, I looked to see
if anyone was around, then I jumped over the fence and climbed up the tree.
By the time I got to the top the creature was already gone. Then I noticed a hole in the tree, it looked
like a tunnel leading somewhere. I was about to jump in when I heard a noise, a yellow spotted owl was
flying in the air, it had come from a nearby tree. Suddenly it swept through the air and went straight
down into the tunnel. I felt surprised, was there more than one animal down there? I slowly slid against
the bark into the pit of darkness. It wasn’t exactly a smooth ride, there were many twists and turns and
occasionally there where lumps on the ground which made it hard to steer. After what seemed to be
like hours, I finally reached the bottom. I was having a hard time figuring out where to go, especially
because there was no light. The ground seemed to be made out of some slippery material. The further I
went, the deeper my feet sank into the sand. The owl was sitting on a large clump of dirt, eyeing me
with curiosity .
A faint glow of light lit up out of the darkness. I turned to the direction of the light and gasped to see
dozens of animals that I had never seen before. They all looked extremely exotic. Creatures of different
sizes, shapes, colours and type features stared curiously at me.
That’s when one of the creatures spoke up.
“What type of creature are you?”
It was spotted yellow owl from before
“I am a human” I replied confused.
“Never heard of your species, you must be truly exotic, I’ve never seen anything quite like you.”
“Uh, I am?”
“Of course, you are! Now come with me I must show you inside so that you may join us,”
We went inside and I talked with the strange owl for a while.
I learnt that the animals were all unique, each being the last of their species. Also the owl had told me
his name was Evan.
This amazing information was a truly great scientific discovery. But I would also disrupt the harmony of
the animals by sharing this information with the outside world.
What was I going to do? Finally the conversation came to an end and the owl invited me to sleep in
one of their nests.
When I woke up the next morning the whole group of creatures where already gathered around a
mushroom shape table.
They seemed to be feasting on honey and nuts, the owl had told me that they all where all vegetarians
and ate lots on honey.
At last it was time to go, I said farewell to all the creatures there and followed Evan outside the
chamber into the mist darkness. Well I guess this is good bye I say sadly…
Category: Year 7-9– SHORTLIST
Matthew Langford Jack was 13 and was an Australian boy. He loved baseball and NFL and was fit for his age, liked to
explore, was polite and gracious to all, and got excellent grades consistently. And he would’ve been
happy, if it weren’t for his douchebag of a dad. And that’s why he left.
He was walking through the forest. He loved the forest. It was vast and shadowy and great for hiding.
Jack had always thought of himself as one with nature and like to see its wonders. He heard a crunch
from up ahead. His explorative nature needed no further prompting. He imagined it as something new,
something beyond what we knew at the moment. He was right. Unfortunately.
After a period of shadowing the creature ahead, it stopped. After a few further steps, he got his first
glimpse of it. It was horrendous, hideous, an aberration. It was like reality had developed a tumour. It
had a multitude of eyes, mouths, arms, pseudopods. It was a floating mass, subdividing and re-
collecting itself, limbs disappearing and reappearing somewhere else on its grotesque form. And then
the creature moved towards him. Jack dodged, but not fast enough. It touched him, giving him the
worst feeling he had ever experienced. It enveloped him, doubling his pain. And then it was inside him,
and Jack passed out.
He was found by a search party eight and a half hours later.
When Jack wakes up, he’s in an ICU in the local hospital. He is in a blue bed, and a radio lies next to him.
Finally, you’re awake, a malignant voice breathes into his ear. He looks around. There’s no-one there.
Don’t do anything like that. It will attract attention, and I don’t want that.
Jack started looking around frenetically, looking for the source of the noise. I’m in your head, fool.
It sure didn’t seem that way to Jack. He wondered if he was going insane.
You’re not, and this will all be over if you just do one thing for me. I need you to kill your father.
“No!” he exclaimed. The other patients in the vicinity turned and looked at him quizzically. But that was
of little concern to him, for in his head the voice turned into a drone. It kept repeating the phrase.
Kill Your Father
Kill Your Father
Kill Your Father
The voice kept repeating it in an endless hum. Jake turns on the radio, in an attempt to tune out the
sound. The Avalanches blared in his ear.
“ You’re a nut, you’re crazy in the coconut! What does This is not going to work, Jake. Kill your Father.
Kill Your Father”
And the drone came back, getting worse and worse, eventually descending into a static blare. In his
mind was all the pain ever considered, and then all was dark.
Jake’s dad was a thaumaturgist. It had been necessary. Mary was infertile but wanted a baby, and her
mental state was especially unstable, so he found a solution. And then from there, things got really
intense. And it was all going well until he summoned the creature. Pondering how to rectify the issue,
he sat down, listening to an old Frank Sinatra record.
“In other words, plea—”
He turned to try to discern the cause of the disturbance. Jake had taken the needle off of the record.
“Put that back on!”, Jim barked “I’m working.”
“Jim Kilpatrick”, Jake responded in an otherworldly tone. “Born February 19th 1977. Bachelor’s degree
from ECU. Married at 24. Child at 31. Died a tragic death at 43”.
Jim realised what had happened. He regarded the boy briefly. He was his only child. It was
disappointing. He started chanting: “Boni operis, vos can utor a interpres-“. But then the aberration
enveloped both of them, consuming them, and then they were gone without trace.
Denmark Bulletin:
Disap-pair-ance in local home
Two people, Jim and Jake Culver (father and son), have disappeared in a local residence. They were last
seen at 8:15 pm, WST, by Mary Culver. There is no trace of either. Jake Culver was noted as having
complained about emotional abuse from his father. Investigations are ongoing.
Grace Jo “THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!”
That’s what I heard as I sit on my plastic seat in my new but empty classroom.
Resisting the urge to swirl around, I stare straight ahead. The stomps halt at my chair. I looked sideways,
expecting to see my new teacher. My eyes take a glimpse at the figure standing right next to me. It has
tentacles waving crazily behind and an eye on each tentacle, they stare curiously at me. As bad as the
tentacles are, the face of the monster is even worse. 3 buttons are sitting on the monster’s eye sockets
and 2 noses instead of one. Its skin is the colour of a sunset. In the few seconds it takes me to gawk at
the monster, I scream and fall off the chair…
I sit up slowly, feeling dazed. I see people standing at the doorway of the classroom, laughing
hysterically at my fall. I glance to where the monster was standing but see that it has vanished. Maybe it
was all my imagination. What a great first impression. I feel embarrassed but stand up. I ignore them
and sit down on my chair. The group stops laughing and comes inside.
“Nice fall.”, one says, while sniggering.
A while later the classroom fills up.
The teacher walks in and glances around.
She smiles warmly at me, then realises that I’m sitting alone.
I feel embarrassed again. Fortunately, another student walks in, she stares exasperatedly at all the full
tables. Except for mine. She sighs, then walks over and sits next to me. The teacher looks relieved.
“Welcome to semester 2 everyone,” she says, “Please welcome, Amber, the new student!”.
Everyone gawks at me and I feel embarrassed for the third time today. After a while, I look around and
see a rush of colour that looks suspiciously like the monster from the morning…
After two more classes, I try to find the library. The library is small, with a few books and the only
people here are the dozing librarian and a few other students. I slip into an empty aisle and grab a book.
That’s when I hear it.
‘THUMP, THUMP, THUMP”
I immediately drop my book and swirl around. The monster is back. Now that we’re both standing, I
realise that it’s about the same height as me. This time its tentacles seem to be gazing sadly at me.
“Hello?” I stutter out
“Where are you from?” I ask
This time it seems to understand. It lunges for my bag. I stifle a scream as he rummages inside and takes
out a pen and a notebook. Positioning a tentacle, it writes.
Somewhere far away.
“Why are you following me?” I ask.
Help me go back.
It stares.
“Fine, I’ll help”
The bell suddenly rings and the next time I look, it’s gone.
I don’t see the monster again until the first break, the next day. I’m back in the library, reading a book.
This time the thumps don’t surprise me, and I glance up at the face of the monster. It grabs my bag to
get paper and a notebook.
Can you get me home?
“I don’t know!” I say exasperatedly
The monster looks at me with disappointment
Do you know where my home is?
“Not sure,”
“Nope”
Do you know why I am here?
“Still no but you ask a lot of questions!”, I say, laughing.
The monster laughs too then suddenly, it starts fading slowly away.
It starts writing frantically,
To get home I had to make a friend in this world. Thank you for helping
My eyes fill up as I sadly wave my final goodbye.
Weeks later I start thinking about the monster. Maybe none of it had even been real, maybe it was all
my imagination. Who knows, maybe I made it all up because I was lonely.
One thing I knew for sure was that the monster didn’t seem like a monster anymore.
More like a creature.
Priyanka Manikandan Creatures of the Wild
My legs ached from running, sweat constantly dripped from my forehead – I felt like I was balancing on
the edge of terror! I quickly hid behind a large, thorny bush, and hoped the jaguars would give up
hunting me. Suddenly, a deafening sound echoed in the air, that even the birds high up in the treetops
flew away. The green foliage on the muddy ground, soared up into the sky in the force of the gun shot,
whilst a whole stampede of animals ran away from the direction I was headed to. What was happening?
Another thundering gun shot was fired, but this time the sound was much louder and closer!
The air was packed with smoke and prevented me from seeing anything, but I heard soft footsteps.
They approached closer and closer towards me.
“Hello there.” I cleared the smoke with my hands to see who it was - a man with a white moustache and
shaggy beard, in light brown shorts and a shirt – he was standing with his long hunting gun beside him. I
was perplexed – an old man, in the middle of the jungle? “What are you doing here?” he asked
curiously, as he broke the awkward silence.
“I’m a jungle explorer and I wanted to see for myself if El Dorado – the lost city of gold was true.” I
explained uncertainly, “but I’m pretty sure it’s all myths.”
The man tutted, “never lose your hope young lady, follow me.” We went deep into the dense jungle,
past the sparking, blue river and the huge trumpeting elephants.
“Now you said, El Dorado, right?” he asked as we continued our long walk.
“Yes,” I replied quietly, “where are you taking me?”
“To the place you came searching for,” he simply answered.
“W-w-wait,” I stammered, “you mean El Dorado, like, you’re taking me to the lost city of gold which was
NEVER EVER found,” I asked loudly, with a hint of excitement in my voice.
“Who said it was never found?” Gradually, we slowed the pace. The man placed his hand on a rather
extraordinary-looking tree. Suddenly, the trees ahead made a narrow pathway. With astonishment, I
followed the man to something I had never seen before. The Lost City of Gold – it was incredible.
Everything was made out of gold - a massive palace of gold, a large golden thrown and most
importantly, huge statues of herbivorous dinosaurs! When the man stepped onto the golden land, the
dinosaurs started to move.
“Wha- ” I started. They went over to chew the leaves off a beautiful golden tree whilst some drank from
a shimmering golden river. These beautiful creatures had such soft skin….one of them pulled me up and
let me sit on its smooth back. Suddenly, small hummingbirds flew out of one of the tall trees, and of
course, they were golden. Everything there was golden – even the pure soil, even the tall trees and
even the extraordinary animals that exposed themselves one by one.
“They’re very shy,” the man cried out loud enough to make sure I heard. Slowly, two ocelots came out
of the bushes. Immediately, ginormous elephants appeared out of nowhere, who played a victorious
trumpet tunes with their trunks. Somehow, the throne was shining vividly, as if it wanted everyone’s
attention. The animals turned around and formed straight lines in front of the glowing throne and
bowed solemnly. Many different animals joint them, including some out from the ‘normal’ jungle, and,
they too became golden. The man made his way to the front of the throne and sat down. Immediately a
flashing light, too bright to look at was created. Blindly, I looked back – the man had disappeared!
Instead, a glorious looking woman was sitting on it. She had a beautiful throne made from golden leaves
and wore a startling gown.
“Where did he go?” I asked, confused. Suddenly, my vision blurred out and I was back in the ‘normal’
jungle. “No! It couldn’t have! It couldn’t have been a dream! It was too real to be a dream...” Suddenly, I
realised I was holding something – a golden bracelet with charms of all the animals I saw.
It wasn’t a dream after all….
ChengYang Ng The windows were cracked and staring out the window were two sullen eyes, slowly creeping me out. I
quickly looked away, not knowing me that those same pair of eyes were about to haunt me forever. I
looked around and realised that Gia had run off without me...the cheek of him, knowing that I feared
this type of stuff.
I crept into the mansion and suddenly regretted it as the door slammed shut behind me. Now, things
started to get WAY creepier. Luckily, I had my phone on me, so I tried to call Gia,” DAMN, no reception”
I shouted in frustration. Gia was the last man on EARTH who knew at least ONE thing about this
mansion. I turned around, “AARGHHHH! “I exclaimed. Yep, you guessed it. I turned around and there it
was, the yellow eyes that were staring at me through the window before. I only got a second to look at
its clothing, a pale brown shirt and it looks like, red trousers? No white trousers but stained with pure
red blood. And not just ANY blood, MY blood. This creature wasn’t a human, it was something else, but
what? I couldn’t tell you. Then everything turned black and I experienced my first black-out. Seriously,
the people in the movies make blackouts look so scary. Trust me, it isn’t scary, because you won’t even
remember it. All I remembered was that there was a giant scary monster lady stumbling up to me,
whacking me in the head and then I wake up here. Oh, man, I felt some liquid on my head and realised
that the creature had split my head partially open. I felt dizzy and needed water, but first, I had to get
outta this house. I was wrong to go in it, but first, I had to find a key. The old wooden door was covered
with nails and little bits of steel and one giant brass lock. As I said, I needed to find the key to get outta
this place. ARGH, I yelped as I stepped on a piece of metal, and I needed to be CAREFUL as well. What
has Gia got me into?
I tried looking everywhere but not in this room, the library, it was filled with cobwebs and the books
looked as if they were alive before the dinosaurs! I love books so like every other book lover you’ll
meet, I went to check out all the cool books, AHHHH this was life, oh wait, I still had to get out of the
house, I sto- I mean borrowed some books from the library, put them in my bag and ran out of the
room. I quickly went down to the basement and started rummaging through the cupboards, hoping to
find at least SOMETHING. My hand flew across a book, a red and golden book, it had a powerful aura
within it, you could feel the power. I opened it and regretted it. The book said that if you opened this
book, you will have power but on one condition, a pair of eyes will follow you everywhere. Oh no, I
thought silently to myself, I turned the page and there it was, the creature that whacked me in the
head. Its face was contorted in many ways, its eyes as dark as coal and it was wearing the same dress,
the same texture. Suddenly, the portrait moved, and I threw the book into my bag and ran. I hid inside a
tall cupboard and examined the book. There it was, the key I was looking for so desperately, hidden
inside a secret compartment where you had to press the creatures face on the portrait. I quickly took it
out, unlocked the door, and ran as fast as the wind. My legs were aching, but I didn’t stop until I was at
the place where we took the bus. I quickly went on the bus and told it to go to my house. I called Gia to
meet at my house, and we studied the book together. I looked outside the window and I saw it, a pair of
pale-yellow eyes, staring at me...
Made Riyo Pradnyananda Lamb’s Absence
Beef immediately leaped onto his feet. The stench was horrible, and it seemed impossible to escape the
lingering odour. Beef attempted to evade the ground, as his hooves were squelching on what felt like
excretion. The source of the smell. When Beef was only a couple metres from safety, he would wonder
how it got there when if was only cleared just a night ago. His thoughts were interrupted by a blood-
curling scream followed by a crash. Something flew past Beef and it landed with a crunch. Beef turned
to see his friend, Bacon.
“Explain.” Beef gestured towards the pile. Bacon spoke blatantly, “Definitely not me, sort of not me…”
“Someone has to clean up.” Beef said, kicking a shovel to Bacon. Bacon gave an unimpressed look.
“Well, why don’t we both do it?” Beef suggested. Bacon nodded and they started the long smelly
process of shovelling excretion. Bacon stuck the end of his shovel into the pile and smelt it, an obvious
mistake and started gagging. Upon this sight, Beef laughed which caused inhalation of the odour and
almost passed out.
Finally completing the task Beef and Bacon decided to get straight to breakfast. Beef grazed on the
succulent, fresh grass while Bacon was munching greedily on his carrots.
Bacon spoke, “That was a pleasant task.” “Well the job’s done but I feel something’s missing.” Beef
responded. Bacon thought hard, “Wait, where’s Lamb?”
Both frantically got to their feet and started thinking about possible outcomes. They searched around
Lamb’s bard and areas he usually eats. While the two ran around, looking for Lamb Chicken serial #197-
12 noticed and came to ask, “Hello there! Why are you in a rush for?”
“We’re looking for Lamb do you know him?” Beef questioned. The Chicken responded, “That rings a
bell! Ah yes Lamb! Quite popular in Barn 12 if you ask me. You are the heroes in the farm anyways but
no I don’t know where he is. Beef and Bacon nodded their thanks and turned the other direction.
The two rushed around the farm asking creatures from horses to goats, chickens to fishes. They even
went to Psychic Goose. “Psychic gooses, me and Bacon need to ask a question.” Beef requested.
“Ah yes those who seek an answer. I believe I know will ask but the solution may be to much a task.”
The Psychic Goose replied. “Oh no he’s about to spit another riddle lets go.” Bacon said as they left.
After a shirt time they started to theorize how Lamb went out the farm. Bacon and Beef started to grab
the spare keys they acquired long ago and attempted to unlock the gates.
“Beyond these fences is unmarked territory. We may have been there before but that was time ago.”
Beef warned.
They ventured to as far as most documented by farm animals. Bacon called out Lamb’s name but was
attracting an unwanted guest. “These animals look like a snack I’d want!” The hunter muttered.
As he took aim, the birds flew from the trees warning the two of a dangerous presence. Bacon and Beef
took flight and made a beeline for the farm. The hunter started firing is hunting rifle with its bullets
narrowly missing its prey. “You won’t escape me!” The hunter shouted.
Gunshots continued ringing in the air as Bacon and Beef sprinted for their dear lives and caught glimpse
of the farm gates. The hunter kept shooting which slowed him down giving the two a window of hope.
They zigzagged to avoid the aim The bullets came closer and closer to the targets and Beefs heart
almost stopped beating but the alarm sheep started to call out which stopped the hunters pursuit on
the two.
As Beef and Bacon sadly concluded the loss of their friend when they trudged to the barn, they saw a
peculiar tractor with a sheep along side it. Beef and Bacon immediately recognised it as Lamb.
“W-where were you, we almost died looking for you!” Beef exclaimed. “I called farmer Jack to clear out
the excretion, but it looks like you’ve already done the dirty job.” Lamb smirked smugly.
Qistana Eryna I fell from the sky and landed onto the snow.
THUMP
My arms felt numb against the snow. I started to get cold.
“The last feeling I’d ever feel before I die,” I thought loudly.
I escaped the castle, after a battle to escape the Wicked Queen. I suffered many stabs, luckily none to
my vital organs. But I was losing blood. Too much blood.
The Wicked Queen made her regime seven years ago, trapping me inside the castle, and cursing the
whole of the story universe.
She made every turn into horrible, hideous creatures. Characters grew deer horns. Dwarfs turned into
giraffes.
I lay in the snow, thoughts zooming like rockets in my brain.
I still kept my eyes shut.
The Magic Mirror. The Wicked Queen’s.
The wicked Queen never took off mask.
Until one day, I walked in on her, without her mask.
It was my mother.
And ever since then, I’ve been on the run.
I battled the Queen’s army, and nearly died during the process.
As that thought washed out of my mind, a pair of arms picked me up, at the exact moment I passed out.
When I woke up, my vision was blurry. I saw a blue twinkling light above me.
The magic mirror?
I tried to reach for it, but my arms were heavy.
When I blinked again, the light appeared to be from someone’s eyes.
I forced my eyes open and found myself staring at an awfully familiar face.
Blue eyes, almond shaped. Tanned freckles studded across his nose and dashing red hair.
He had the body of a man, but the legs of a horse. A centaur.
I passed out again.
When I woke up again, I stayed awake. The centaur turned into human form and being of this world
can. He was sitting on the couch, asleep.
The guy on the chair jerked awake the moment I took a breath. His sapphire-blue eyes met mine. He
looked so familiar.
“Hatsune?!” I screamed.
He nodded.
“It’s ok, you know,” he smiled. “You can trust me,”.
“I’m only going to see your wound, and apply some cream to it, that’s all,” he said soothingly.
“O-okay,” I managed to stutter.
He unbandaged my arm I saw the many bruises and cuts from where I had my battle with the Queen,
Aka my mother.
I swiped the thoughts away. I didn’t want to think.
I watched as the Hatsune applied the cream against the cuts. The sharp, prickling pain slowly faded
away.
“Yes, Thanks,”. I placed a soft smile on my lips.
“Anything for you, runaway rebel”
I nearly fell off the bed. Again.
“You know?” I shrieked.
He snorted. You’re legitimate everywhere Myori,”. He turned around and went to a table. He picked off
a piece of paper and handed it to me.
My heart nearly stopped when I read it. It was a wanted poster, having my face on it. I started to panic.
“No wait don’t panic,” said Hatsune. Placing a hand on my shoulder.
I couldn’t calm down.
“What if you get caught?!” I shrieked. My heart started to thump loudly.
“We won’t,” said Hatsune soothingly.
“You don’t understand!” I screamed. “The Wicked Queen is my mother Hatsune!”
Hatsune nearly tripped over.
“What?!” he said.
I felt tears running down my eyes. I closed them, shutting of the throbbing in my head.
“It’s fine,” said Hatsune, himself trying to stay calm. “No one will find us here,”.
There was a silence.
A voice I knew too well.
The Wicked Queen found us.
We looked around in time to see the Queen and her army crash through the wall. The same army I
fought and nearly lost my limbs with.
I had a bone to pick with them.
But before I could do anything, the Queen screamed “Seize them!” and then the sound of gunshots.
Her army of poor, imprisoned characters shot darts at me and Hatsune. They had to shoot several shots
to put Hatsune down.
Maddison Riley Shadows
The night was cold, in fact the night has always been cold since the vile creatures took over the once
great kingdom of Elkia. The creatures looked human but were nothing like the simple form of humanity.
They were great beings with the power to bring down worlds and destroy everything that does not
please them. These “gods” as they called themselves had been ruling for many years with the
hundredth anniversary of.
Creed had just left the loft he broke into, stealing all the money the owner had. When the boy saw the
rulers of his kingdom for the first time. Power seemed to leak from them, and the shadow of
destruction followed them as they hauled a man across the floor. These humans, no these beings they
had murdered the entire royal family, they kept slaves and executed any wrong doers. These creatures
needed to be put down and it needed to be done soon.
Creed was running towards his friend Harper’s house before he knew what he was doing. He pushed
open Harper’s bedroom window and climbed inside.
“Creed?” Harper asked.
“I saw them,” Creed responded painting and stumbling over his words.
“The…. gods?” Harper questioned.
~
A hooded figure named Clorda ran down the streets of Elkia late at night. She had been plotting against
the rulers of the kingdom and had planned to kill them tonight, but the night did not go as planned.
Clorda had triggered one of the palaces alarms and had guards chasing her for blocks, she seemed to
have lost them ages ago and was now running to someone who she never thought to see again.
In the back alley, next to the house of the person who meant the most to her before she disappeared to
live with the rebels, Clorda could hear them speaking.
“You’re telling me you want to… kill… the rulers?” One of them asked, his voice wavering on the word
kill.
~
Creed sat on his roof staring at the stars. The shock that Clorda was still alive and still living in the city
she hated was lingering on him, not allowing him to sleep, but that wasn’t the only thing that kept
Creed up this night, after Clorda had come out of the shadows and Harper had finished nearly crying
while yelling at her, the three had decided to kill the rulers. They had planned everything in that dark
alley and would bring the end to their reign tomorrow when the rulers would come out and give their
false speech of hope to the people, something they did every twenty-five years. Creed and Clorda were
to be the ones to kill the two rulers while Harper would “supervise”.
Tomorrow would be the end to this horrible era and Creed would be the one to restore the once great
Kingdom of Elkia.
~
The street was full of people none of them knowing what the three hooded figures were planning. It
was always confusing to Creed how these people could be so happy when their families were hauled
out of their bed in the middle of the night to be executed.
“People of Elkia!” One ruler yelled from his podium with the castle towering over him. Everyone rushed
forward as the ruler continued with his string of lies and Creed and Clorda ascended the building in
front of them. Harper walked forward with the citizens, convincing himself he had an important job too.
The two rushed across the roofs and were soon perched on opposite buildings with the rulers just
below. They shared a quick nod before jumping down onto the podium. Whispers arose from the crowd
just before both the assassins drove their blades into both rulers. The bodies fell to the ground with a
loud thud, the sound of screams erupted everywhere, a shadow poured out of the dead bodies and
began to move. It shoved itself down Creeds throat. The boy choked on the shadow before everything