My Special Guy
Who do you think I am writing about? He has short black hair with a little bald spot in the middle of his head. Like a bird's nest in his hair. He has shiny brown, glistening eyes with a sparkle in the corner of his eye.
The best hobby he has is making me laugh so hard that I cannot breathe. He makes the best food in the world even if it doesn't work out, he still tries new foods. One time he tried making a pot of French toast but in the morning, it was a big disaster.
He loves meat so he goes hunting for meat. If he does not shoot something, he goes to the store and buys meat. He works as a garbage man and he drives a huge truck. He goes to people's homes and takes their garbage.
He is the worst dancer in the world, but I think he is good because it is funny when he dances. He makes everyone laugh and laugh. He loves sports. He played baseball and hockey but does not anymore because he is too old. He is 50! He is the best person in the world.
These are the things I like doing with him. I like going to the hockey game but I go just for the delicious food. I went to one of the hockey games and the other team scored on his own net. We like watching TV together but we can't always agree on the same show. We like going camping with the family at Kootenay Lake. We love to go swimming in the lake. Some of the things he cooks, I help him with. He is the best person in the world.
These are some interesting things about him. He is one of the most hilarious guys I know. He is a bad dancer but that is what makes him funny. He is the best person in the world.
Things that make me laugh. He loves to dance the tango and talk in a Scottish accent. Also when he acts like the bogeyman trying to eat me.
Have you guessed who he is? I will give you a hint....My Mom and I are the boss of him! He is my Dad, Mark. He always says, "Ahhhh, Muffin."
He is the best person in the world.
Tianna Kofluk, Grade 4, Young Writers Group
Winter
Winter is all about having fun. Christmas is when Santa comes and brings us presents. You can do a lot of fun things in winter.
You can drink hot chocolate. There are lots of cool things that animals can do in the winter. They can change colour. The weather can get really cold and it can snow. It can also be really icy.
What most people like about Christmas is decorating the tree.
When you want to go outside, you have to dress warm. You have to wear snow pant, mittens, a hat, coat and boots. Winter is a lot of fun because you get to spend time with your family.
Winter is all about being happy. Lots of people love winter because winter is fun. I love winter. Winter is also about being thankful. Winter is fun.
Quinn Featherling-Craig, Grade 2, Pinewood School
On the weekend I went Christmas tree hunting with my family. The tree was humongous! We decorated the tree last night. It was cold. It was the bushiest tree we ever had before because we found it by itself. I was really glad we got it before somebody took it.
Laney Lepine, Grade 1, Pinewood School
Pictured here are the members of the Cranbrook Young Writers Group. Left to right: Facilitator Lori Woensdregt, Erienne O’Grady, Tianna Kofluk, Maya Delaire.
Robbie Burns Day
Yay! Today we had Robbie Burns day! It was great! The first thing we did at the assembly was the phenomenal Address to the Haggis. When Mrs. James did the address, everyone was in shock as if a knight dressed in armour came in. She was speaking dramatically in a Scottish accent while she swung her sparkling knife about and stabbed the haggis.
Yay! We also had people from different schools come to dance for us. The first Highland Dance was done by really little kids who came to our school. It was TOO cute. Jaimee and Joelle did the Sword Dance. It was something! Last but not least, the students from the Pinewood Highland Dance group danced. It was so funny, but not in a rude way because everyone was going different ways and they were running into each other.
Yay! In Scotland, people invented things like TV, telephones, the steam engine, pavement, bikes and stamps. People were very smart at that time. The Grade Six class made clues and we had to guess the inventions that were made in Scotland. If we guessed it right, we got t-shirts from the Highland Games. It was pretty cool.
Yay! The best part of the day is... don dan daw... the Heavy Events. The Sheaf Toss was my favorite. You had to throw a sack backwards over a high bar. Then we had a Caber Toss and putting the stone. Putting the stone, in my opinion was pretty cool because you had to throw the stone and yell your last name. Mr. McPhee was our guest and he showed us how to do the events.
I love Robbie Burns Day. It is very fun and it celebrates my Scottish heritage.
Kya Chisholm, Grade 4, Pinewood Elemenatry School
Messy Room Poem
This house is in a state of disarray,
It's a wonder visitors don't run away.
The doorbell has you greeted with a sound quite defeated;
The door just moans over what it owns.
Entertainment is a chore, despite what it's for:
Movies are missing their discs, making me have to frisk
And finding endless trash instead!
They never use Swiffer, but they beg to differ, saying
"Cleaning is pointless as long as you ignore your sniffer!"
The washing machine needs a wash itself,
And don't get me started on the bathroom shelf.
This house is so vile
I likely should file
For an eviction, then tear it all down!
Will they clean on any future day?
Our only real choice is to pray.
Jayce Catherall. Grade 9, Parkland Middle School
Boucle d'Or et les trois souris
Voici l'histoire de Boucle d'Or et les trois souris Smach, Crach, et Dach. Un jour Boucle d'Or entend quelque chose qui vient du mur. Elle cherche sa potion et elle se tasse et va dans la maison des souris au mur. Et elle voit trois bols de fromage. Elle va au premier bol de fromage. C'est la poutine. Elle l'a mangée. Elle va au deuxième bol de fromage. C'est de l'eau-fromage. Elle l'a mangé. Elle va au dernier bol de fromage mais la souris l'a déjà mangé. Mais tout à coup elle entend un bruit dans une des chambres. Elle va dans un des chambres qui est remplie des chaises. Elle va sur une des chaises mais ce n'est pas très beau.
Alors elle va à l'autre chaise, c'est bon. Elle voit un téléphone alors elle le met dans son sac. Elle voit une autre chambre et elle voit les trois souris qui pratiquent leur musique avec leurs pattes. Boucle d'Or va dans sa chambre et prend sa boite spéciale et l'amène dans la maison des trois souris et dit « Bonjour j'ai des instruments dans cette boite. » Smach a pris les ciseaux, Crach a pris le couvercle de la colle et Dach a pris le livre. Boucle d'Or dit « tu peux vivre dans ma chambre. » Alors, les souris mettent toutes les choses dans sa chambre et elles étaient amies pour toujours. La fin.
Jasmin MacNeill, T.M. Roberts Elementary School
We are going to our rooms
I hop in my bed on Christmas Eve
No sounds in the house not even a mouse
Tree is empty not even a box
Elves with Santa are coming soon so I wait in my bed after
Reading I've finished still not a peep
I wait for Santa
while I fall asleep
Clayton Lepine, Grade 3, Pinewood School
Pictured here are the Pinewood contingent in CBAL’s Family Literacy Week Student Writing Competition. Clayton Lepine, Erin Adams, Jordan Shukin, Laney Lepine, Diane Casault (SD5 Director of Student Learning and Innovation), Kya Chisholm, Lynn Hauptman, Brystol Chisholm, Kya Ewen.
Labradoodle
Furry, excited, adorable-this is my dog. Her name is Lucy and she is as black as the night sky. She even has little white hairs on her back that shine as bright as real stars. She is a Labradoodle - a Labrador and Standard Poodle, and is only 2 years old. Her eyes are as brown as coffee. Her soft and beautiful belly is as pink as light roses, and her fur is long and curly. Her fur is usually long, but when she comes back from the groomers, it is very short, which makes her look as silly as a clown. Lucy’s snout is long and foxlike, and her cute as a button nose is as big as a balloon! After all, she is only a doggy! She is just so adorable.
Run, run, sleep, eat. One word: Lucy. She is as jumpy as a squirrel, but she sure doesn’t get along with those little rascals. She barks at them constantly. My precious pooch is very badly behaved, jumping on people at the doorway, stealing food from the table as sneakily as a panther, but you have to forgive her. After all, she’s only two years old.
Lucy is an escape artist. She is like Houdini! She will dig, jump or even smash her way through anything that stands in her way. No walls can contain her! She is A-M-A-ZING with a capital A. She also barks a lot. I mean a lot. She barks as loud as a fire truck. THIS LOUD, HEAR ME, THIS LOUD!!!! That is my “puppster whuppsters”. (As my dad calls her.)
Soft on the inside and friendly--that is how Lucy makes me feel. She is warm and comforting as a HIPPO (I love Hippos). Yet I can also get as frustrated as a dad (my dad when his kids do not listen) when she escapes. That is another story that I don’t want to go through again. But I still love her. I mean, if you met her, you would be screaming, “Who wouldn’t love her?” at the top of your lungs.
Lucy was born with a breeder named Vickie somewhere near Gordon Terrace School. She had about 6 or 7 brothers and sisters (boy, THAT would have been annoying) who were all golden except Lucy. We chose Lucy because she was just so special. She stood out in the crowd; she was interested in us when none of the other pups were interested. She liked us. In addition, she was the only black dog and some “out of their mind” people do not like black dog.
We brought Lucy home and she made lots of friends. She is just so sociable and just so nice. She has her puppy buddies: Sebastian, Rae and Tina who are all Golden Retrievers. (Boy it sure is WILD when they all come over!)
One of her buddies is Ted, the Border Collie. He is a pain when you are looking for sticks for a project He steals all of them before you can say, “Hey those are my sticks”. He doesn’t even ask. Honestly, some dogs just do not have any manners these days.
Her best buddy is Bella, an exquisite Black Lab who is just the sweetest, nicest, most beautiful dog in the history of the Solar System. No, the universe! Those two make the perfect pair, romping around and having the time of their lives. Every time I see them, I just go, “Awwww”. But the sad and very cruddy thing is that Lucy hardly ever sees Bella. She lives with someone else and the only time she comes to our neighborhood is when our neighbour doggie sits her. Poor Lucy, she likes Bella as much as her very favourite Nyla Bone. And that is saying something. As you can see, Lucy has lots of friends.
In summary, I love my black Goosey-Moosey. (Another one of her ridiculous but adorable nicknames). Lucy is as special to me as a star!
Erin Adams, Pinewood, Grade 6
Un endroit que J’aime beaucoup
J’ai un endroit où j’aime être dans l’été, c’est le Lac Miroir!
J’aime aller camper là presque tout l’été. Tu peux voir beaucoup de chose comme la plage avec des enfants dans l’eau. Il y a un parc aussi. Peut-être que tu vas voir les poissons qui sautent! Tuy vas entendre les bicyclettes quie promènent avec les enfants et les scooters electriques. Quand tu es là il y a une place pour avoir de la crême glacée, du thé glacé et la gomme. Tu peux sentir les BBQ. Peut-être du poisson. Tu peut sentir les fleurs. Elles sentir si bon. Tu peux toucher les roches qui sont douces, l’eau qui est parfois chaude, le sable où tu peux faire les châteaux. Et si tu pêche un poisson, tu peux le tenir! Quand je suis là, je me sens heureux, content, joyeux et excité. Tu peux faire quelque chose là comme aller à la plage et construire un chàteau de sable. Tu peux aussi aller pêcher si tu veux. Tu peux aller au parc, tu peux faire de la bicyclette si tu en as une et peut-être tu peux faire du scotter electrique. Ça c’est ma place préférée!
Kai Massicotte, 3me Année, École T.M. Roberts
Snow
The secret night, With silent snowfall, All lights are out,
No one awake,
Bright, white snow, The silent night.
The secret snowfall at 12 a.m. All lights out,
No one awake.
Glowing, glistening, bright, white snowfall.
Snow sparkly.
The powdery blanket over the earth. Twirl and chill
And freeze and sparkle Like white blossoms.
Swoop and glide
Like a tickling chill up your spine.
Iain Howell, Grade 3, Gordon Terrace
Being Mindful
I am going to work on greeting people with a
Good morning or a hello or a smile.
I am working on this because it fills peoples buckets
and my bucket.
It makes people feel good and it makes me feel good.
I am working on greeting people.
Issis Hunt, Grade 4, Gordon Terrace
Happiness
Happiness looks like my dog rolling around in the snow.
It tastes like fresh chocolate chip banana bread.
It smells like fresh baked oatmeal raison cookies.
And it reminds me of going to Powell River and going to the beach and collecting crab pinchers.
It sounds like birds chirping in the trees.
Happiness makes me feel like a good person.
Nate Kovacic, Grade 2, Gordon Terrace
Pictured above are the Kootenay Orchards contingent in CBAL’s Family Literacy Week Student Writing Competition. left to right: Maddy Hollick, SD5 Superintendent Lynn Hauptman, Zoey Quinton, Diane Casault (SD5 Director of Student Learning and Innovation), Kara Fluegel.
BOOM! An explosion just went off.
I crawled out of the rubble. Holes were burnt in my clothes. My long brown hair tangled in knots. Sally, my best friend, came running towards me brushing the charcoal off her shorts.
Then Sally yelled, “Hey Bethanie! Was that a bomb?”
“I don’t know but I think so,” I said terrified, trying to catch my breath.
Then we saw an old man up on the hill in the distance staring contently at Sally and me. He had bushy grey eyebrows, a blue poncho and a fedora.
All of a sudden Sally screamed, “RUN!” She grabbed and tugged me. As we ran to the lake in the distance, Sally’s blonde curly hair was blowing in her face. I looked behind us. The old man was running after us tripping almost every step!
Then Sally and me fell into a puddle of mud. “Just our luck,” Sally said with tears of frustration coming out of her eyes!
The old man grabbed us by the collars of our shirts and threw us into the trunk of his minivan. Dark and cold, it was just Sally and I in the trunk as the old man drove us away.
When the van stopped he opened the trunk and we came tumbling out! He grabbed us by the wrist and walked us to his old beat up house. He locked us in, not saying a word. Sally and I were screaming for help and trying to find a way out!
Then I found something terrifying, horrible and dreadful. I showed Sally and she screamed! It was a paper that showed where an even bigger bomb was — a bomb that could blow up the whole world!
We needed to stop it! We had to!
We found a small window behind a bookshelf. I threw a can of soup at it and smashed! We ran to the forest where the bomb was planted. I cut the wire and disabled the bomb.
Long story short we saved the world! I never wanted to do that again!
Then we got ice cream!
Kara Fluegel, Grade 4, Kootenay Orchards Elementary School
If I was a penguin
If I was a penguin I would be a king penguin. I would eat leopard seals. I would like to play with my friends. I would not like like to see killer whales. I like penguins because they are cool.
Adrien Arn, Grade 1, Kootenay Orchards Elementary School
Worst
As I opened this horrid gift I thought it was a cool T-shirt.
When I saw it I said, “is there something wrapped
up in this?”
It was underwear!
I couldn’t stop stammering in my mind
w-w-w-what i-i-i-is th-th-th-this??
As I struggled to say thank you I was trying to
Keep in the anger and devastation and that is
The worst gift I got this Christmas.
Cole Kenyon, Grade 5, Gordon Terrace
The Bravest One of All
Once there was a small grey cat named Cinder.
He lived on a farm in a red barn with two horses. The older horse’s name was Steel and the younger horse’s name was James.
There were also three pigs named Rob, Sam and Sall. The pig named Sall had six piglets: Joey, Pete, Porky, Jerry, Waffles and Walter.
There was a rooster named Cocky, a hen named Penny and three little chicks named Buster, Chirp and Peep.
Now lets get back to Cinder. Cinder was a grey tabby cat. His mother was orange and his father was jet black. He had two older sisters and brothers (Carmella, Sera, Clawer and Harrell).
Now if you’re wondering what his parent’s names were, his father’s name was Streak and his mother’s name was Mesa.
Cinder was the runt of the litter.
He was eight weeks old. In one more day, his mother would take him out to see the barnyard.
Cinder could not wait to go outside as his mother carried him to bed. “But mom,” Cinder said. “I can’t go to sleep.”
“It’s only for a night,” she responded.
“Okay,” he said.
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!
The sound of Cocky’s crowing wok up the little kitten immediately.
“I must have jumped ten feet in the air,” said Cinder.
He was still muttering about Cocky’s crowing when…
Just then, he remembered what day it was.
He ran over to the milk dish. “Wow,” I’m the first one up.” Cinder began to lick the milk when his brothers and sisters woke up.
They ran over to the milk dish, trampling Cinder in the process. “Ouch,” said Cinder.
“Breakfast is served,” said Clawer.
“Sorry,” Harrell said mockingly, “No runts allowed.”
After a bad breakfast, the kittens got ready to leave the barn.
“Now remember,” said their mother, “stay close to me.” Then she led them outside. When the sun touched their fur, they wanted to roll over and purr. But their mother said there was more to see and feel than the sun.
She showed them the pigs, the horses and all the other animals. She showed them the stream and all the other places around the farm.
After the tour, their mother went over to talk to Penny about her chicks. “Now stay here and don’t go wandering off,” commanded their mom.
“Okay, they said. Cinder listened to his mother, but Clawer, Harrell, Carmella and Sera had other plans.
Cinder noticed that his siblings were no longer beside him. He looked around, frantically searching. He finally spotted them.
They were heading to the forest! Cinder ran as fast as he could. He could hear them up ahead, he was almost there when he heard “STOP”
He skidded to a halt. It was steel. He had a heavy plow on and couldn’t see Cinder.
But it wasn’t Steel that warned Cinder. IT was the younger horse named James. Cinder said, “I need to catch up to my siblings.”
“You can get on my back. I’ll take you to the edge of the forest,” James offered.
As soon as Cinder got off James’ back, he said, “thank you for the ride.” He then ran into the forest.
A few seconds after, he entered the forest, Cinder saw his brothers and sisters. He hid in a bush, watching and waiting until he heard something making a racket.
Then out stormed a bear.
Cinder’s sister, Carmella, was so scared she fell over and fainted. Cinder climbed the tree that was next to the bush and jumped to the tree that was right above the bear and water for the right second to pounce.
As soon as the bear stood up with his claws towards the sky and his head looking at Cinder’s siblings. Cinder pounced, aiming right for the bear’s eyes.
The bear ran away scared, trying to tuck his tail between his legs.
When Cinder came out of the cloud of dust slightly bruised, his siblings ran over and thanked him for his heroic effort. Harrell even apologized for calling him a runt. After that, Cinder was never bullied again. He was known as a hero.
Megan Stewart, Grade 5, T.M. Roberts
Winter Fantasy
In Winter I see the sparkling snowflakes shining in the starry sky as they flutter down to me.
I feel as if I am snowboarding with my brother, shredding some powdery snow.
I hear kids laughing as they sled down the icy hill.
I touch the icy cold snow as if a challenge and the snow isn’t cold at all.
I taste the yummy icing on a delicious sugar cookie hitting my tongue.
Winter is a fantasy!!!!!!!!
Zoey Quinton, Kootenay Orchards
Snow
I love snow. It sparkles like fairies. It sounds like little rocks. It has amazing shapes. It feels like a sheep. It is as beautiful as angels’ wings. When it snows it is like angels falling. Snow is as magic as Santa. Snow is beautiful.
Oliver Kmiecik, Grade 2, Kootenay Orchards
My Hero
Heroes are people who make a difference in the world like my dad.
He’s a police officer. I think he’s a hero because he saves people’s lives by stopping drunk drivers. He’s also very brave because he puts his life on the line every time he goes to work. My dad’s not just a hero because he saves people’s lives he’s also a hero because he’s courageous. I hope one day I will be as amazing as him.
Jayden Perpelitz, Grade 6, Kootenay Orchards
Pictured here is the T.M. Roberts contingent in CBAL’s Family Literacy Week Student Writing Competition. Sierra Daignault, Dylan Sinclair, Jasmin MacNeill, Principal Brenda Tyson, Megan Stewart, SD5 Superintendent Lynn Hauptman, Kai Massicotte, and TM Roberts teachers Bruce McAnerney and Stacey Johnson.
Books and Bees
Once upon a time there were many plants and animals. All of them were good enough to be main characters, but today I will focus on one person, or rather, animal: Newsy Bee, the bumblebee, who has newspaper wings. Let’s call him Newsy for short.
Now let me tell you a couple of things about Newsy. One, he can communicate with flowers, and two, Newsy hates reading. Newsy has many, many, MANY friends. In fact, he has a meadow full of friends. One day, Newsy decided to take a nice, long relaxing walk, or to be more accurate, flight.
“I’ll go visit the Owls and see if they want to fly with me,” Newsy thought to himself as he flittered across the meadow toward the forest. When Newsy arrived he threw a chestnut at the entrance which was as close as anyone in the meadow got to ringing a doorbell. For 10 minutes he waited, hummed to himself and tapped each of his little feet in a rhythmic pattern: left front, right front, left middle, right middle, left back, right back, over and over and over!
When Mrs. Hoot Hoot finally answered the door, Newsy could see through her feathers that her face was flustered. “I’m quite sorry,” she apologized. “My daughter Hootsie, as you know, wouldn’t let me leave until I finished the book we were reading.” “All is forgiven, I guess,” replied Newsy. “But it is disappointing to wait a long time over,” he paused. “A book!” The last word came out forcefully. He took three deep breaths and quickly regained his calmness. You see the talk of books always unnerved him.
“Well anyway, I came to ask you if you want OT go for a walk, er, fly with me?” said Newsy. He was disappointed when she replied “No can do. We’re going to the chestnut library! Hootsie wants to get some more …” she trailed off, leaving the word “books” out. “Maybe later,” she called, as Newsy drifted away.
“Maybe Scooter the Squirrel would like to play.” He pondered that idea for a little bit. “Yes!” he decided. When Newsy arrived, Scooter was playing outside. “Sorry, dude, I can’t,” Scooter said after Newsy asked him. “Unless you want to play make-believe with me! I’m Blum Bloo, the Blue Martian!”
Sally-Ann, Newsy’s snake friend, came up behind him. “Yessss,” she hissed, her forked tongue sliding between her lips. “I’m playing toooo. I’m Kisssses the One-eyed Martian. Would you like to play tooo? You can be Stro-pe the Pug, Zeek Zorb the Robot, Lola the Pink Martian, Blubzee the Green Martian, or Sir Underpants the Astronaut.
“Hey, I’m Stro-pe!” Strom Strom the Dog announced. “I’m joining! I’ll be Lola,” called Hootsie, who had come straight from the library, leaving her mother to pack the books home.
Katrina the Cat came prancing from tree to tree to tree. When she landed, she asked in her wise, all-knowing English accent, “Can I be Sir Underpants?” Strom Strom replied “sure.” Then Hootsie interrupted, “Oh, I remember where I heard of these characters before! In a …” Sally Ann went to block Hootsie’s beak, but it was too late. The words “best-selling series had gotten out. Mr. Newsy Bee saw red. “Goodbye!” he yelled, and flew off.
Newsy went where he always went if he was angry — to the meadow, where his flowery friends could help him calm down. They were whispering soothing words to him when he was interrupted. “Ah-hem!”
He turned and stared at Katrina. She stared at him. She spoke. “Why don’t you like reading?”
Newsy replied, “When I first learned how to read, I read a scary, very VERY scary book. It scared me SO much, I decided I’d never read again.”
Katrina handed him a book. It was called The Martians. It was the first book in the best-selling series that Hootsie had been talking about.
An hour later, Newsy finished it. “I love it!” he declared to Katrina. The two friends raced back, to where the game was taking place. Everybody looked up. “I have three things to say. One: Thank you Katrina. Two: I will never complain about books again, except really scary ones, and three: can I be Blubzee?” Everybody laughed. “That works out fine!” said Strom Strom. “Now there is a spare character.” Everybody laughed and played. Newsy Bee always took out books, and everybody lived in harmony.
Erienne O’Grady, Young Writers Group
The exciting life of me
I’m very short. When I reach for items that are up high, it’s always a pain! When I cross the finish line first in running races it’s also a shocker! I also have blond hair. It’s funny because when I was only a few months old, I had hard as black as nighttime. Sadly, I’m one of those people who were unfortunate enough to be stuck with horrible eyesight. I really hate glasses. At the age of 10, I got so fed up with them I started begging my parents for contact lenses. In fact, I did so until the point of exhaustion. When I ask someone to try to describe me, the first thing people say is that I have incredibly small hands.
I also really love to dance! Once, I got so into the music that when I was jumping off another dancer’s back, I was only inches away from falling right off the stage! I’m an outdoor person as well. There are so many things I like doing outside such as hiking, skiing, swimming in lakes and cliff jumping. My all-time favourite sport is definitely skiing. One time, when I was five years old, I was determined to be as fast as my big brother. I ended up getting stuck in a ditch with my ski twisted the wrong way around! Another time when I went at Kokanee Creek campground, I jumped off a 25 foot high tower. It was so scary!
Sometimes I lay awake in bed dreaming of going somewhere fare away from here, somewhere like Paris, Switzerland, Disneyland, Asia or Quebec. Most of all, I want to go to Switzerland. I would absolutely love to go there because my brother was born there and my family lived there for four years. I’ve heard my dad talk endlessly about his experiences there. Once, he even got to go to an all-you-can-eat chocolate factory with his class at the Kennedy School! My family has also gone to the Swiss Alps many times; they’re so lucky! Another place that would be a dream come true is Paris, France. The reason I’d go there e is mainly to get a chance to speak a lot of French and to see the Eiffel tower. I’ve heard how amazing it looks at night.
My bucket list is full of lots of spontaneous things such as skydiving, bungee jumping from a height of at least 20 feet, get point shoes, learn to surf, become a doctor to help people battling cancer, and many more. The item on that list that I would like to accomplish most is probably to become a doctor because I have had so many people in my life deal with cancer that I really want to make a difference. When I get determined, I never give up. This will help me become a doctor. Number two on my short bucket list is to learn to surf. I want to accomplish learning to surf because I’ve always had a love for swimming and I think being able to ride on the waves of the ocean would be so cool! I’ve heard even vertically challenged people can surf the enormous waves.
Kiera McAnerney, T.M. Roberts
A legend: How zebra got it’s stripes
A long, long time ago there lived a big eagle. He flew above the sunny African desert, and would always pick on beautiful zebra. Zebra would just ignore him, but eagle just kept picking on him.
Zebra decided to go to sleep. While zebra was asleep, eagle took a deep, deep breath and scratched zebra and he made big black stripes. When zebra work up, he didn’t know he had stripes. Later on zebra found out! he went to eagle.
He said, “did you scratch my fur?”
“Yes I did,” said eagle.
Zebra said, “well, that was rude!”
So eagle said, “I will make you a promise. I will not scratch your skin if you go to the magic pool!”
“Ok,” said zebra. So zebra had a a big journey and he was finally there. He swam in it and when he got out, he was covered in stripes.
That night, zebra went to sleep. While he was sleeping, eagle scratched him again! And zebra woke up. Zebra went to the eagle and asked how he was doing. Zebra said, “you scratched me, you are breaking a promise.”
“Oh, I apologize,” said eagle.
Eagle learned from now on not to break promises.
Sierra Daignault, Grade Three, T.M. Roberts
The Incredible Journey Through the Digestive System
One day Maddy the Mini Apple was spending time with her friends laughing and joking. Suddenly the world started to shake and rumble and they found themselves being lifted into the air. Ahead Maddy the Mini Apple saw the sun gleam off big white pearly teeth. A high pitched scream escaped from Maddy’s mouth, “Noooooo!” The teeth crashed down, luckily just missing Maddy.
In an instant, Maddy the Mini Apple was inside a moist dark mouth, as the teeth continues to crash down around them. Maddy the Mini Apple watched as her friends were broken up into small pieces by the vicious teeth. Out of the dark, a large slimy tongue started pushing her towards the teeth, Maddy the Mini Apple quickly ducked as the came down, just missing her, again. Maddy the Mini Apple watched as saliva covered what was left of her friends and started to cry. That second she was pushed into the esophagus and slowly went down.
Up ahead Maddy the Mini Apple saw her friends connected together. She tried to pull herself down but it was no use. Maddy the Mini Apple was bored. She had no friends left. Then she saw something very strange. Her friends went down this hole very quickly and never understood what had happened in the esophagus. Five minutes later, Maddy the Mini Apple didn’t want to go down this mysterious hole and tried to climb out but it didn’t work.
Maddy the Mini Apple was in the stomach. She fell and made a huge splash in the stomach acid! She floated around looking for something to grab. A big thing of food floated towards her and Maddy the Mini Apple grabbed on the pieces of food and realized it was her friends. A tear fell from her cheek and into what was left of her friends as they went into another hole and into the duodenum.
Maddy the Mini Apple picked up her chewed up friends as they arrived at the duodenum. Maddy the Mini Apple turned around and an enzyme was speedily going towards her. She ducked and the enzyme hit her friends. Maddy the Mini Apple dodged the rest of the enzymes as her friends moved through the duodenum when they reached the end, an enzyme hit Maddy and a hole appeared in her skin.
They went into the small intestine. In the small intestine the villi eat most of the food, but not this time. Maddy the Mini Apple grabbed all the food the villi were going to eat, but every minute or two the villi would eat some of Maddy the Mini Apple and friends. In about the middle of the small intestine, Maddy the Mini Apple fell down in exhaustion and the villi ate most of her friends.
When Maddy the Mini Apple woke up, she was still in the small intestine, but her friends that she was laying on were mostly gone. Maddy the Mini Apple quickly grabbed what was left of her friends into her arms and ran as fast as she could, still dodging the Villi and in about one minute Maddy the Mini Apple saw the end of the vicious villi.
She sprinted to the end of the small intestine and the beginning of the large intestine. Maddy the Mini Apple laid down on what was left of her friends and pushed it into the large intestine. A tear went down her cheek.
One of the villi snapped at her and she raced after what was left of her friends. She caught up with them and Maddy the Mini Apple looked at her friends.
She wondered. It seemed that the blob of Maddy’s friends had dried out! Maddy the Mini Apple shrugged and hopped on her chewed up friends, and took a nap through the large intestine. As she slept, Maddy the Mini Apple wondered what had happened in this last hour. Maddy the Mini Apple woke up and found herself at the most interesting part: the rectum.
Maddy the Mini Apple grabbed her friends. Maddy looked down the rectum. A piece of food fell, Maddy the Mini Apple decided to jump into the anus with her friends. Maddy the Mini Apple had fall into a giant toilet! She grabbed the side and climbed out and never forgot what had happened on the incredible journey through the digestive system.
Maddy Hollick, Grade 5, Kootenay Orchards
The end is only the begining
My name is Trudy. I am a turtle, and I am responsible for the end of the world. Let me tell you what I did.
It was a normal day on earth and I was swimming around in my lake at the beach. No one was at the beach today, only because everyone was at the parade held in the center of town, and everybody goes to the parade. But all of a sudden two men dressed in baggy sweat pants rolled up to their knees and both wearing normal t-shirts, were walking on the shore of the lake. I started to wonder what they were doing at the beach since everyone was at the parade and why they were wearing sweat pants, for it was too hot out to be wearing sweat pants. So I decided to follow them. I soon discovered that one was named Shawn and one was named Wilfred. Shawn appeared to be holding some sort of remote. He didn’t look very kind. His eyes were droopy and he looked very angry and annoyed. Wilfred on the other hand seemed very gentle and kind. He looked very joyful and content. It looked as if Wilfred were trying to take the remote away from Shawn, like it was something very horrible. So I decided to listen to what they were talking about. First Shawn said, “I’m not giving it to you Wilfred!” “Shawn I know you won’t, but if you do we could both be millionaires.. . And create world peace.... ‘’ he said then Wilfred snickered. So I thought for a moment and realized that world peace was a good thing and that the remote wasn’t horrible, and Shawn was being selfish and didn’t want world peace. So I soon made the decision to try and sneak up behind Shawn, bite his toes until he drops to the ground then I take the remote from his hands then give it to Wilfred to create world peace. When I wasn’t listening Shawn said’ ‘but it could also go very wrong and destroy the world’’. I was just crawling on to the shore when Shawn decided to throw it to me. I think he thought I would just go back into the water where Wilfred could never get it. What he didn’t know was I was going to give the remote to Wilfred. Once Shawn realized what I was doing, he yelled to me ‘’ NO! HE IS GOING TO USE THAT TO MAKE HIM RICH! HE WILL KEEP ALL THE MONEY TO HIMSELF! AND IF THAT DOESN’T WORK, THERE IS AN EIGHTY TWO PERCENT CHANCE THAT THE WORLD WILL BLOW UP AND THE SIDE EFFECTS.... “ Before Shawn could finish and I could decide who I wanted to trust, Wilfred laughed and took it from my mouth and quickly pushed the button. Before we could even say ‘mittens’ the world had already blown up. I didn’t need anyone to tell me the side effects for I had already realized that I had grown to the size that the world used to be.. Maybe Wilfred knew the world was going to blow up this entire time.
No one was dying from no air in since it was space. Space looked a lot different than the
pictures I see left on the beach every once in a while, it actually looked like a normal blue sky with clouds, a sky that you’d see on earth. Perhaps no one ever really went to space and perhaps they lied for money. I had just realized that I could breathe when I remembered someone telling me that it is impossible to breath in space. Is everything just one big lie?
There was no other planets to be seen besides the moon and sun. All the animals’ insects
and mammals were very large. Except for the humans... Many people have told me that humans are animals too and that humans are even mammals too, so isn’t it fair for all animals and all mammals to all have the same side effect. I don’t believe it is fair. I was relieved when I saw my friend Mary-Lou the moose that comes to the lake for a drink
every now and then. She looked concerned as she attempted to run towards me while floating in space. “Trudy! There are two men telling everyone that you are responsible for the world exploding! Is that true?” I told her “Mary-Lou, I guess it kind of is my fault...” Then I explained what happened at the lake and she said “the side effects! Man they are huge!” we both laughed then I asked why she wasn’t mad. “Well you didn’t know in the first place and well... We are still alive aren’t we?’’ I thought about that for a second and I was about to answer when an angry mob of children, teenagers, adults, seniors all humans of the world were running and screaming towards me. “You are responsible for this?! Well you’ll pay the price!”. They all climbed onto my back. All of them.
A couple years later, everyone had they own house. All of them. It’s like an entire planet was built on by back. These odd trees started growing on my back, the bark was my shell and the leaves were made out of green cotton candy. Flowers grew on my back, and came to be up to 14 feet tall, they had such a beautiful scent it could cure any sign of stink. All the plants that grew on my back were beautiful with many bright colours and shapes carved into their leaves. Many small and colourful lumps grew on my back and everyone would use it as grass. The land on my back was so beautiful. All the animals that live on my back turned into strange but adorable creatures. Some shrunk but some are still very big. No one needs to eat in the land on my back for the side effects of the explosion of the earth cause a very long life for humans and a forever lasting life for animals so you do not have to eat. The humans living on my back do not need any brand new clothing, they all share. When they grow out of their clothes they give it to someone smaller and someone bigger gives you their old clothes.
Even though I destroyed the planet I saved all of humanity. Perhaps the end is only the beginning...
Maya Delaire, Grade 5, Young Writers Group
How to be Jordan Shukin
• Love your family in every way, even when they are gone (RIP)
• Take your dog for a walk every day.
• Love your stuffed animal even when someone makes fun of it.
• Listen to music on your phone — like pop music or the kind that you like.
• Get some books that interest you more.
• East chocolate on everything.
• Sleep in your own bed — just to not make your mom nuts.
• Play minecraft on your Iphone 4S.
• Put on pink clothes to make you pop out.
• Drink root beer but not all of it.
• Love your cat even when it runs away.
• Go to school every day because it will make you smart.
• Watch some TV to entertain you.
• Eat lots of peanuts.
• Do some gymnastics.
• Read your favourite book.
• Laugh out loud.
• Listen to every word your teacher says to you.
• Bake your favourite pie or cookies.
• Shop around the mall.
• Run around the field a whole bunch of times.
• Play soccer in a big field.
• Walk around the snow.
• Be kind to others.
• Be funny, try hard to make others laugh.
• Do something caring for your friends.
• Do something weird like saying, “blah, blah, blah, blah!”
• Please be smart so you can go to college.
• Do something to help others.
• Always try your hardest.
• Be friendly to everyone.
• Have a good sense of humour.
• Eat lots to make you live longer.
• Never give up because you are awesome.
• Go to bed earlier to get some sleep.
• Love your family the most.
• Laugh a lot to make you happy.
• Be honest because you need to tell the truth.
• Draw like no one is watching you.
• Treat others the way that you want to be treated.
Jordan Shukin, Grade 5, Pinewood
Loko's Misadventure
It all started with Loko, the angler fish, being stalked by a monstrous hammerhead shark deep in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The thing is, Loko also knows he needs protection from that shark — they are mighty powerful. Loko heads into his temporary home and he can hear the hammerhead close into his den. Loko was a smart angler fish, so he knew what to do. He burst our of his home and started to swim away with the vicious, bloodthirsty shark right on his tail.
Loko swam over to a sunken frigate, possibly a pirate’s. He headed through a hole in the wall and found a chest of treasure beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. He hid in the cozy chest. It was filled with plenty of radiant rubies, shiny sapphires, delicate diamonds and glittering bars of gold. The hammerhead shark tried to breach the room with Loko trapped inside. The shark wouldn’t stop — he was committed to slaughtering Loko. It seemed like days! The shark kept going at it, trying to either kill or starve Loko out.
“You have to come out, puny fish!” taunted the shark, camping outside the room.
Loko was starving and hopefully the bloodthirsty shark was too.
At least one hour later, the shark started to get sluggish but the spruce walls were starting to give in. Loko was still starving. There was no food in the room, only loneliness and precious gems. Loko only had one choice — to eat the precious gems. Loko had a nibble on a ruby, thinking it would taste like a sweet strawberry. They obviously didn’t, but they were better than nothing. Next he tried the glittering gold bars, once again thinking they would taste like something that it wasn’t. Loko thought they would taste like the ripe bananas that fell from the palm trees on the east coast. They still only tasted like bland sawdust. He munched on the flavourless gold until the wood started to crumble away from the shark harshly body slamming the wall. The shark was going to get in eventually, so Loko had to act fast. What could he do? He could somehow close the lid of the chest. Yes! That would be the trump card!
After minutes of mindlessly thinking, Loko figured out what to do. Loko bit the lock off the chest and tugged the lid down.
On cue, the hammerhead burst in, mystified that Loko was gone.
Loko only had a bit of dim light in the void-black chest from his head bulb. He heard the frustrated look around and swiftly swim away, out into the deep Pacific Ocean. Two thoughts flashed through his mind: gratefulness and claustrophobia. Gratefulness because Loko was grateful he didn’t get ripped to shreds by the adamant shark. Claustrophobia because Loko was a claustrophobic fish. He couldn’t handle being in that treasure chest for over an hour. He might die from a fin attack!
Loko tried to slam the lid with all of his might, like the shark did with the wall, but it wouldn’t budge.
After minutes of thinking what he could do, Loko know his plan. He took chunks out of the left side of the chest until there was a hole large enough to squeeze out of.
Loko began to head in a random direction from the ship to see if there was any food that was actually edible.
Loko was starving down to his tail. He looked around. The rocky walls of the ocean had dozens of spider crabs on them. The largest was about three and a half metres tall and could probably slice him right in half. Not messing with these crabs. The seafloor was polka-dotted with colourful coral reefs filled to the brim with schools of fish. Perfect food.
Loko lunged towards the school of fish and snatched two with a single chomp. He fed on the deceased fish. The rest of the fish sped away, but they knew they couldn’t outspeed Loko. He quickly finished the fish and raced towards the other fish.
He slaughtered about six more. Things are looking up for Loko.
Loko help on going in the general direction he had been going.
He found a trench with no visible bottom. He decided to sink in and find a hole in the deep black stone wall that would be a perfect new home.
Around one day later, Loko heard the running of an engine. It was getting louder every minute until it became an unbearable colossal roar. Loko sneaked out of his home to look around. First, he looked down. Nothing but the abyss. Left. Just a deep dark stone wall. Right. Another stone wall. The only other way is up. Above Loko was a bright yellow submersible with a hunter protected by a scuba suit coming our of either side. They held loaded harpoon guns. The diver on the left took a shot at Loko. It narrowly missed Loko. The diver on the right took a shot and with dead-eye accuracy. Everything went pitch black.
The last thing Loko saw was a harpoon swirling right at his head.
Next thing you know Loko was at the bottom of the trench bleeding out with no head bulb.
Loko blinked out from his near death slumber. His head was oozing out blood. He needed to cover the bleeding before he died from blood loss. There was coral rock and seaweed. Seaweed could just work. He bit a piece of slimy seaweed out of the ocean floor and tossed it into the water above him. It landed on his cut and stung. It would have to do.
Loko swam up to the top of the trench. Loko’s stomach rumbled and he knew he needed some food. He swam to his left to see if there were any fish to snack on. A school of fish glanced up at him and hastily swam away. Loko chased, but it was no use. They got away and hid.
He started to continue and spotted a titanous teal tail, ten times his size.
“This could be my saviour,” Loko said. “That tail looks delicious”
Loko sneaked behind the tail, just to reveal at least half a dozen raging fish on either side, chowing down on the blue whale. They were much much larger than Loko and had blades above their mouths. Swordfish. They were cutting out chunks of meat with their serated swords. They ate the flesh mercilessly.
“That must be tasty,” Loko thought.
Loko bit a chunk off the tail, but he instantly spat it out. It was too thin and slimy. Loko knew what he had to do. He sneaked over to the body of the whale. Loko went within 10 feet of the swordfish and sank his teeth into the juicy blue whale.
Loko was feasting upon the savoury whale when a swordfish noticed him. “Who are you, puny fish?” demanded the swordfish closest to him.
“L-Loko, Sir,” Loko responded. “Ple-please don’t kill me! I just …”
“We won’t,” claimed a swordfish that sneaked up on him from the other side. “There is plenty for all.”
“Th-thank you!” Loko gulped.
All the “innocent” fish chowed on the deceased titan.
Later, after the ate the blue whale down to the bones, they gathered in a makeshift circle with Loko in the middle.
“This is a sacrifice,” the largest swordfish declared, “for the blue whale we ate.”
“Wait!” Loko shuddered as the swordfish that previously talked slashed across Loko’s scales.
Bleeding, Loko retaliated. He crunched the fish and ripped the blade right off his head. Loko tried to swim away, but he was majorly outnumbered.
A swordfish boosted in front of him. He jabbed Loko in the scalp with his ragged blade. Everything went black for Loko.
“Traitors!” Loko thought to himself as he drifted down to the coral-covered seafloor.
The killer fish left Loko be, dead on the seafloor.
Dylan Sinclair, TM Roberts
The Image Robber
The green leaves that laced the brown twisted branches above seemed to be laughing at me.
Maybe it was the way the sunlight hit them, or maybe it was how the wind blew them ever so slightly back and forth that made my eye’s see faces printed on those green leaves, but I could of sworn they had smiles as big as the branches they hung on. I was lying there just under a big willow tree watching the clouds roll by, trying to remove the memories of the previous night. You know that feeling you get right in the pit of your stomach that makes you twist and sway your head around your surroundings with confusion? As if you could feel the sudden presence of another, and you would swear on your tub of vanilla ice cream back at home that someone was watching you. Well that’s what happened to me last night; the night I first caught a glimpse of that bony, hunched over thing …
15 hours before …
“Honey, where are you off too at this hour?” My mother asked me.
Slumping my head in defeat at the fact that I had been caught, I turned around and nervously looked at my mother who’s back was still turned to me as it had heen when I had made a mad dash for the door.
“Uh, nowhere in particular just … you know out I thought id maybe go for a run since my grade is really dropping in P.E.” I replied hesitantly.
My mother glanced out of the window above the stove and then sighed as she looked at the sky. It wasn’t dark yet, but the sun was close to setting and with winter just around the corner that meant it would be dark before dinner.
“Alright. But be home before 8 and don’t tire yourself out too much. You wouldn’t want to go to bed without supper. “
As surprised as I was, I held in my excitement and mumbled a thank you before hurrying out the door. I wasn’t really going for a run to boost up my P.E. Grade, even though my grade was dropping, I was going out to see some friends at the old cottage in the woods. And since my friend Kyle’s sister Bethany is best friends with my crush Janice, it was the perfect opportunity to make a good first impression as well.
I started out for the woods that laid just beyound my house and started jogging a bit for effect in case my mother decided to watch me out the window. When I was sure she couldn’t see me, I slowed down
to a walk and watched the trees pass by. The dirt path that I was following seemed to be never ending, and the sun was getting pretty low over the hills when I could just make out the small brick chimney, that was now plagued with moss, in the distance ahead. Once more of the old cottage eame into view I also saw Kyle, Bethany, Jyler, Jake and Janice all sitting around the rotting porch in front of it When I saw Janice though, sitting on the first step of the old porch smiling with Bethany, I took in a sharp breath. She was pretty alright. With her long dirty blonde hair and tall tan figure, it was a wonder that she didn’t already have a guy bending over backwards for her.
“Hey, Pete! You finally made it did ya?” Kyle said while he waved me over to where the group was sitting.
“Yeah. It was a longer trip then I thought.”
“Ha ha well come join us! We’re just about to venture into the ol’ cottage and see what’s left of the rotting thing. Maybe the owner left something valuable in it” Jake said laughing as he plucked a piece of grass from his side.
I walked up the steps to where Jake and Tyler were lounging casually against the door frame and leaned back on the wall next to them. Of course Jake would be the one that made sure we all would go into the little cottage, he was a big thrill seeker so I can’t say that i’m surprised. I stole a light glance at Janice before I made up a response for Jake, and she actually looked almost eager to enter the house.
So naturally to impress the girl I laughed along with Jake and agreed that we should all have our own tales to tell of when we entered the old cottage in the woods. There isn’t actually any legend or spook story of someone or something that haunts the place, but an abandoned rotting building in the middle of the woods with the sun setting could send shivers down anyone’s spine. Tyler, Jake, and I all allowed the girls to enter the cottage first and we followed close behind them.
Me, right behind Janice of course and the guys just behind. I let my eyes roam over the little room that we had entered and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the place … The first thing Inoticed when I got inside, was the pictures hanging on the wall. I couldn’t put my finger on it but something about them seemed wrong with the atmosphere they were in. Taking a secound glance around it though everything else seemed like how you would expect it. There were no furniture anywhere except for an old wooden rocking chair in the far corner of the room, and the fireplace was covered in old ashes and cobwebs. There were no stairs leading into some creepy attic or basement though, just a doorway a little further ahead of the fireplace that i’m guessing leads to the kitchen.
“Whoa! Look at that tbing!” Jake exclaimed as he rushed over to the fireplace.
“What? What is it?’’ Janice asked trying to get a glimpse of what he was reaching for.
Jake reached into the fireplace and rummaged around in the ashes a bit before pulling out something I couldn’t quiet make out. Just a blob covered in old dirt and ash.
“Gross. It’s almost squishy like. Oh god. Kyle, wanna hold it?” Jake held out his arm to Kyle with a grin on his face as he knew Kyle would refuse.
With a look of remorse and disgust Kyle turned down his offer and started walking around the room.
“Jake, what even is that?” I asked while I watched Jake play with it and offer it to the girls.
“Ha ha, dude I have no clue but it feels weird. Here, hold it!”
“Jake! Gross man! Just, put it back and don’t touch anything else.”
With one last fling towards Bethany and Janice, Jake finally put down the still unknown squishy blob back into the fireplace with that grin still plastered on his face. I shook my head at him, most times he’s only looking for a way too show off and i’m starting to think that this is one of those times.
“This place is so dead.” Bethany said quietly.
It was true, the place was dead. The room itself looked as if it hadn’t seen a broom for more then a decade, an the fireplace was piled with black ashes. But the walls weren’t near as bare though with all the pictures hanging around the room. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong about the pictures ... the way there was no dust on them seemed to pop out to me. My eyebrows scrunched together with realization and walked over to a hanging portrait of a rather tall girl smiling and curtsying. I ran my finger along the edge of it’s picture frame to test my theory.
“Hey guys. Look at these pictures. There isn’t a single speck of dust on them. That can’t be right. This entire room is filthy but these pictures look new.” I turned back around and looked at everyone, Janice in particular, and watched their reactions.
“Really? Creepy. Maybe someone does live here after all. “ Kyle spoke up with a bit of a shiver.
I looked back at the portrait of the girl, she looked about my age maybe a little older but she wasn’t smiling into the camera. She was curtsying to a man with one of those weird french moustaches with her chin up smiling at him. Shaking my head in confusion I dismissed it as paranoia and looked back over at the wooden rocking chair to try and distract myself from the unease I was feeling.
“What the — Pete don’t do that!” Jake shouted out of nowhere.
“Do what!? Jake, I’m across the room from you ... I’m not doing anything.”
I looked at where Jake was standing by the fireplace and watched as his eye’s clouded over with confusion and shock. Jake flipped around with his hands flying up to his neck and stood still frozen.
“Dude, what is it?” I nervously asked.
Jake’s whole body tensed up and before I had a chance to ask him what was wrong, his screams filled the cottage within seconds. My hands flew up to my ears and I shut my eyes like a scared kid.
This can’t be real, this can’t be real. I chanted over and over again to myself in my bead. I opened my eyes again and yelled at Jake to stop it. But when I looked back up to where Jake last stood, he was gone.
“God Jake get back here! Don’t play us like that man, stop! It’s not funny at all.” Kyle yelled into the night air.
My breathing was cut short as I looked back up at everyone else. Their expressions matched my own. Complete horror was written entirely over their faces and their eyes showed fright. That’s when I saw a long thin shadow slither across the room to where Janice and Bethany stood. I couldn’t speak, I just stood there and watched as it’s long bony fingers slipped around Janice’s neck and flung her with ease over it’s backside and crawled away into the kitchen again. I let out a scream of terror that seemed to deafen even my own ears. It’s face showed a look of pure insanity with its twisted head that looked over at me and shrieked before disappearing with a slump Janice over its shoulder. I didn’t realize it at first but the way it’s face twisted and was sunken in gave it an illusion of a skeleton. It wasn’t human and it had just taken Janice. I threw myself out of my thoughts and looked over at Kyle and Bethany before lunging towards the door.
‘ “PETE! PETE! Bethany come on we’re out of here! Pete! Wait!” Kyle yelled after me as I flung open the door.
I turned my head back to him and watched as he held onto Bethany’s arm as she cried into his shoulder begging him to not leave Janice behind. I placed my foot on the first step of the old porch before feeling my weight go crushing down into its weak rotting boards.
I let out another loud scream as I felt a sharp pain fly through my leg and shoot up my spine.
“ Kyle help! Man don’t leave me help!” I cried out with agony.
Kyle and Bethany went cautiously around me before glancing down with tears in their eyes.
“ Bethany you run ahead and wait for me by that big rock we saw on our way here. Remember? Go!”
Bethany immediately obeyed and ran off into the trees just in time for another piercing scream and sobbing cry to fill the night air. Only this one wasn’t from me, it came from inside the cottage. I stared up at Kyle with blurry vision as I struggled to free my trapped leg and ignored the screams as best I could. Kyle reached out and started throwing boards behind him in order to free me but every move he made resulted in pain.
“ Man careful!” I yelled out shakily. Kyle groaned in frustration and agony while his sweaty palms were trying to pull me out.
Occasionally glancing up at the cottage too make sure the creature wasn’t coming out any time soon to finish off the rest of the group. Another shriek filled the air around us causing Kyle to drop the damaged board he was holding in his hands. The thing that made Kyle’s face drain of any colour though was the fact that the scream was coming from the woods and not the cottage. Kyle glanced down at me with an apologetic sorrow look before sprinting out into the trees calling out too his sister.
I cursed and sobbed while my shaky hands grabbed at the broken wood around my weak limb. The pain that was screaming in my leg told me that it was broken. As the last board was removed from over top my leg I silenced a scream at the sight of the gauging wound that had tom open my calf revealing muscle and bone. It was in an unnatural position and my foot was loosely hanging from my limb like a piece of beaten raw meat. I couldn’t stay here and with every last energy I could sum up I pulled myself back out of the wreckage and craw