Mon Feb 6th 2012
This a sample of one of the entries, read by the author.
The Key
by Alex Wood
Bored of the long summer holidays, Luke and his sister Flora decided to go to the beach. They sprinted as fast as their noodle-like legs would carry them until they reached the golden blanket of sand. They searched desperately in the hope of finding something exciting. Then, out of the corner of Luke’s eye, he caught a glimpse of a rusty key and decaying scroll. He reached out to touch them when they seemed to hop out of the way so he leapt like a kangaroo and grabbed them like a Venus flytrap. Whose were they and how did they get here?
He lifted up the key to get a closer look and seemed to be hypnotised by it. Luckily for him his sister was still there and she shook him out of his trance. Luke unrolled the dusty scroll which turned out to be a map. It had loads of weird symbols on it so Luke dashed back home and plopped himself in front of the computer to work out what the strange patterns meant. Eventually he cracked the code. It read ‘follow the map until you find my treasure’.
WOW! thought Luke, should I go? Of course he had to. The map led him to a creepy old house. He tried to open the front door but instead of creaking open it toppled inwards. Inside sat the oldest, wrinkliest man Luke had ever seen. Luke stumbled closer and the man whispered “Go through this door and carry on with your journey Luke”. “How do you know my name?” shouted Luke. The man just tapped his nose and vanished. Luke tiptoed toward the door, twisted the golden knob and the door squeaked open. Suddenly he was sucked into the room and the door slammed shut behind him.
The room was empty, or so he thought, until black figures started to appear from the shadows. Luke banged on the door with all his might but it was too late, the shadows pounced on him like a pack of hungry hyenas. Just as Luke had given up hope the ground gave way beneath him and he plummeted down into a cellar. This room wasn’t empty, in the middle sat a wooden chest. Luke spotted the keyhole and took the rusty key out of his pocket.
A chill crept up his hand and his heart pounded as he inserted the key. It was a perfect fit. Luke hesitantly twisted the key and lifted the lid. He gasped. Inside lay the most beautiful crystal he had ever seen, it appeared to shimmer as if it contained magic. He lifted the crystal out of it’s velvet cocoon and was immediately transported home. He ran to find his mum bursting to tell her about his adventure. However, she didn’t believe him, grown-ups had no imagination! He even started to doubt it himself until he slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the coolness of the crystal against his warm fingers. He would always remember.
Mon Feb 6th 2012