Tag: Runner up story

Categories
Age 9 to 12

‘The Black Diamond,The Ghost Ship’ by Kieran Pennock, Age 9 Years

The Black Diamond
The Ghost ship
by Kieran Pennock

The two archaeologists slashed through the thick vines of the secret Temple in the jungle. They raised their swords as they approached the final corner that they needed to turn in the Temple. Then they would finally be there! At the end of their quest! They approached cautiously. Surely there would be a trap? But no, there were no traps. They edged round the corner. The room around the turn was brighter than the mossy stone corridor they had just walked down. In the exact centre of the room was a dark marble pedestal. On top of it… The two men gasped. The Black Diamond!!! A dark aura surrounded the shining crystal. The two men crept towards the jewel. One of them picked it up. It was impossible to see through the black stone because it was such a dark colour. The gem glinted in the light.
The archaeologists sprinted out of the entrance of the ancient Temple. Their acquaintances, who had been waiting outside screamed in horror! One of them grabbed The Black Diamond and ran off into the humid jungle. The archaeologist who had been holding the stone heard a thud just behind him. He quickly spun round. The other archaeologist lay on the damp grass, dead! The man looked up. He just had time to see a savage looking man jumping towards him! The killer plunged a glinting sword at the unfortunate man. Then everything went black…
Kieran and Connor walked through the streets of Falmouth. It was the day of the Tall ships Regatta and the awe-inspiring tall ships were moored out in the deep blue water. Connor and Kieran walked onto a quay made of stone bricks, which pointed out into the sea at another grassy headland. At the end of the quay, a huge tall ship with a lot of wooden crates on it was moored. People were staggering off the tall ship carefully trying to hold onto the small crates they were carrying. Police surrounded the area and there were monitors everywhere. Why did this quay need so much security? Nearby some crates had already been taken off the tall ship, their was something that looked like a suitcase. Kieran and Connor ran over to it. The case was black with two silver buckles. It didn’t seem to belong to anyone so, curiously, Kieran opened it. Inside was a small box, some clothes, a pistol and a sword that had red stains all over it. Kieran opened the box. Inside the suspicious box was a sparkling black jewel wrapped in bubble-wrap. A dark aura surrounded it. The two boys looked at it in awe. Kieran picked it up. At that exact moment, a blaring alarm went off, the monitors zoomed in on them and the police spun round and saw them. “Sorry!” panicked Connor. “We didn’t know!!!” But the police did not listen. “HEY, KIDS!” one of them shouted. “WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING IN THAT CASE?!!?” The officers looked very angry and lunged at the boys. Kieran and Connor bolted. They ran past the endless crowds looking for a place to hide. Eventually, they found a back alley. Pushing past an old lady, they sprinted into it and ducked down behind some dustbins. The two terrified boys snuck a peek at the police running past the entrance to the alley. Exhausted, the boys ran further down the alley and onto a small quay. A gigantic tall ship was moored on the quay. It was apparently deserted. Kieran and Connor crept onto it. From the main deck, the boys could see a dark red tall ship on the horizon. It was very sinister-looking. It was heading in the direction of Falmouth! But Kieran and Connor walked down some steps into the bottom deck of the boat and didn’t pay the ship a second thought. But they would soon see what bad news the red tall ship really was… Kieran heard a terrible cry from the depths of the ship. Maybe the boat wasn’t deserted? Kieran and Connor crept further. But Connor stayed about two metres behind Kieran. Kieran saw some metal objects ahead of him. They were hanging on a wall. Kieran tiptoed closer. The objects were swords. Kieran took two off of the wall, cutting himself in the process but it didn’t hurt him, neither did it make a mark on his skin. Kieran held out one of the silver swords at Connor. “But I don’t want to cut myself”, said Connor. “I just cut myself and nothing happened to me”, said Kieran reassuringly. Connor took one and cut himself. A bloody mark appeared on Connor’s skin. “OW!!!” he screeched. “What?!” asked Kieran, who had shoved the dark gem from the suitcase into his pocket. “It didn’t hurt me”. But Connor said it didn’t matter. Suddenly another ear-splitting cry filled the boat. Then another cry came. Kieran and Connor had become very curious about what the cries were. They ventured further into the depths of the tall ship. As they walked the noises got louder and louder. The boys opened a door to their right and ran into the room where the cries were coming from and held out the swords in front of them. At the far end of the room was a cage. Inside of the cage was a black springer spaniel with a red collar. Kieran opened the cage to let the dog out. It licked him in appreciation. Kieran looked at the red collar and found that the dog’s name was Volt. “But why is it called that?” Kieran asked. “I guess it must be very fast”, replied Connor. “Oh”, said Kieran.
Kieran and Connor ran back up the steps onto the main deck. Volt followed them. They looked out into the water and saw a terrible sight! The dark red tall ship that they had seen earlier was right next to another huge boat. The two boys could see the silhouettes of the boat’s crew. They didn’t seem to be aware of the tall ship next to them. Then, suddenly… “BANG!!!!!” Slowly, the boat began to sink into the water. Down, down, down it went until it was completely submerged under the shimmering sea. The red ship continued moving closer towards Falmouth. Kieran and Connor were horrified. Could they be the only ones who could see the sinister vessel? They had to stop it. Quickly.
The two boys somehow managed to sail the boat over to the terrifying ghost ship. The ship didn’t have a name carved on the side of it. The wood that it was built from was painted dark red. The ghost ship had many hatches on the side of it. Cannons poked out from inside the hatches. The boat had many scruffy men on the main deck. From the crow’s nest came a shriek. “OI, CAPTAIN!!! THERE’S A SHIP APPROACHING!!!” Then a man with a grey beard and a pirate hat shouted: “LOAD THE CANNONS! FIRE, FIRE!!!” “BANG!!!” The cannons were fired again. Suddenly, the ground beneath Kieran and Connor’s feet began to slowly lower. They looked over the side of the ship at the deep water. Kieran looked over to the ghost ship. Maybe they could jump and escape drowning? “I’m going to jump,” he said. “Are you crazy?!!?” shrieked Connor. But it was too late Kieran had grabbed the sword he had found and jumped to the other boat. Connor realised he had no choice but to jump too. He leaped off of the ship. Volt followed him and easily made it onto the deck of the ghost ship. Connor stumbled as he landed and nearly fell backwards into the water. The two boys lifted their swords as the shaggy-looking men lunged at them. They fought their way through them, somehow surviving to get to the ship’s wheel. The man with the pirate hat and the beard was the only person there. He drew a cutlass from a sheath on his belt and pointed it at Kieran and Connor! “Give me The Black Diamond!” the man screeched. ” I don’t know how you got your hands on it but give it here!!!” “NO!” shouted Kieran. “I’m gonna throw it off the edge of the boat!” You’re not getting it! You’re evil!!!” “Give it to me and I will spare your lives!” Kieran took the gem out of his pocket, walked to the side of the boat and held the Diamond over the edge of the ship. “NO!!!!!” shouted the man. While the evil pirate captain was distracted, Connor struck him with his sword. The man screamed in pain. But he was somehow still alive. Kieran shoved The Black Diamond back inside of his pocket and ran over to help Connor. Their swords clashed. Kieran and Connor pushed the pirate away from them and Kieran slashed his sword at him. The man shrieked again, but he was still not defeated. Then Volt ran up to the pirate from behind, sprang up into the air and sank his teeth into his backside. The pirate collapsed on to the deck where he lay, stone dead. “You did it Volt!” shouted Kieran in delight. “Yay, Volt! You were actually useful for once! Well done!” said Connor. Volt barked happily. The two boys then sailed the ghost ship back to a quay in Falmouth, where they got off the boat and walked back to their houses.
Kieran and Connor studied The Black Diamond for the next five weeks, but they still couldn’t figure out what it was, where it came from and what, if anything, it did. Eventually, Kieran, Connor and Volt just buried it in the field outside Kieran’s house, but they still researched the stone for the rest of their lives. However, they still found out nothing about the gem.

The End

Categories
Age 13 to 16

‘The Legend of Falmouth’ by Marine Montchamp Aged 15 years

Once upon a time there was a little town called Falmouth. It was very lovely with all her white houses and restaurants. There was the sea just near it. It was very practical because everybody could go fishing.
The people who were living in this town, which was very good, were always helping each other if there were any problems. You just had to ask if you were in trouble, or you couldn’t do something. The person next to you would say ‘No problem, I will help you. What do you want me to do?’
Everyone was friendly, people were sharing and giving things to each other without thinking. The children were quiet and not rude. There was no jealousy or madness. Everyone trusted his neighbours. It was the stereotype of the perfect town.
Falmouth was very famous for that but also for another thing. It was a fishing town. It had the most beautiful boats. Tall ships made from wood. They were always shining in the light of the sun. They were strong and could go for miles without having an accident. It would have been considered really rude to criticise any of these boats. They were the proudest elements of the town but there was one of the ships that everybody respected, almost venerated. It had big, giant white sails. Its wood was the best quality. It was the strongest. You had the sensation when you were watching him that even the biggest waves couldn’t beat him and break him. His name was the ‘King Harry’ and it was really treated like a King. It was cleaned everyday with total attention and care, polished and admired by everyone. It was the symbol of the town.
So for the people who were living there it was a duty to know how to swim and how to sail. Every parent taught that to their children at an early age. Now that you know the most important things about Falmouth I am going to tell you the other thing that made her famous for ages.
There was a man who lived in this town. He was the most beautiful of all the men. He had black, straight hair, which was as dark as the night. His eyes were blue, as blue as the sea. His skin was nearly burnt brown because he spent most of his time outside. He was 23 years old. Nobody knew his name. All the women wanted to marry him and all the girls wanted to go out with him. Because he never talked and was always going away when anyone wanted to ask him something, the other men of the town weren’t jealous. His eyes said everything, all his feelings, sadness, madness and anger, as he never talked. They hypnotisied all the people around him. He was scary. Some people in the town were saying that he was half angel and half devil.
But now I invite you to go into the mind of this guy, who was so sad and angry. The town surrounding him was full of happiness, joy and love and it was making him crazy. He knew that some bad things were happening in the world, outside from this little island, over the sea, miles away, in another country, and he believed that it wasn’t fair that nothing bad was happening here. He felt different from everybody. First he didn’t know how to swim and people knew that and so they were always looking at him in a different way. Second he didn’t know who were his parents. Were they still alive? Were they dead? Were they living in the town or in another place beyond this ocean where he couldn’t go? He was stuck here. The third and last reason of all was he couldn’t feel anything apart from bad emotions. What was love? What this thing called happiness? What was this other thing that everybody was talking about? Friendship, he remembered the word, but what was that? All these questions without any answers. He couldn’t handle that anymore. He was tired, desperate because he didn’t have the answers.
Today was the 23rd of July. The day of the town’s party. Everyone had decorated their houses. The town was magnificent and wonderful. People were happier than usual, it was a different mood, in a different way. Everyone was singing while they were preparing for the evening’s party. ‘The King Harry’ would pass in front of the town and would fire his six cannons. So men were carrying barrels of powder onto the boat’s bridge. Women were decorating it with colourful flowers, which were smelling very fragrant.
During this time of excitement, our young boy was lying on a rock near the beach. He was thinking, tonight he will set the ‘King Harry’ on fire! This idea began to excite him. At last the people will know his emotions. Yes, tonight he will enjoy being there!
The sun began to hide himself behind the rocks. It was a beautiful summer’s night. The air was hot and there wasn’t a breath of wind. You could clearly see the moon, which was sharing her light. The sea was calm. All the people of the town were on the bridge where you had the best view of the sea. Children were seated in front of grownups in order to have a better view. Everyone was waiting for the ‘King Harry’. For the children it was like a dream to see real cannons fire. For our mysterious boy it was also like a dream. He was at the top of the lighthouse where he had taken a gun in order to fire onto the barrels of powder.
Midnight was nearly coming and the people were now counting 10,9,8,7,6…even the lonely person at the top of the lighthouse who usually never spoke was counting…5,4,3,2,1 and 0!
The ‘King Harry’ appeared through the night. He was magnificent, full of colours, red, blue, purple and pink. He was carrying on his sail masts one hundred sailors who were all wearing the same uniform, a t-shirt with blue and white stripes with black trousers. They were singing the National Anthem. It was really amazing, even supernatural, with the moon above the ship, and the ‘King Harry’ sailing through the ocean to discover all new things.
People heard a BANG and a big explosion followed this noise. The ‘King Harry’ was on fire! A beautiful fire which was eating him, killing him with his giant flames, which were even bigger than his sails. Sailors were jumping, flying through the air, trying to escape. They were like seagulls diving into the sea to catch fish. The music was still playing. It was a dramatic show from which no sailors escaped. People at this moment said nothing because they were really choked with emotion. Just the children were screaming because they were afraid.
During this time some men have climbed to the top of the lighthouse and have captured our young murderer. He was happy and what a good feeling it was, even if he knew he was going to die.
The men brought him through the crowd and showed him to the people. Everyone was screaming, ‘Death! Death! Death!’ Even the children were shouting, they were full of anger. They weren’t thinking, just saying this word, ‘Death! Death!’ Now they were all carrying this man. They put their hands up and with just one enormous move, threw him into the air.
He fell into the sea. He didn‘t move, he didn‘t try to escape from all this water around him. He was just floating in the happiness. He knew he was going to die. Just before his last breath, if you could have seen into his magnificent blue eyes, there was love, all the emotions he had wanted to feel for years were all mixed with his death. When he drowned, fireworks appeared in the sky. One hundred fireworks, they were all the dead sailors. They were illuminating the town with their spirits and their souls, they were escaping from the heart of the boy.
Since this day we don‘t know what became of Falmouth. Some people said that she drowned in sadness, anger, madness and jealousy. We have got nothing else left from her except the skeleton of the ‘King Harry’ lieing on the bottom of the ocean.

Categories
Age 9 to 12

‘Alanna’ by Danni Woodnutt, Age 12 Years

Alanna, the daughter of the eccentric millionaire Ferrars, stepped onto the deck of the ship Jentje, and looked about her in wonder. She was in Falmouth, at the Tall Ships Regatta. The masts and rigging loomed above and around her, and the water rippled and shivered. Typically, it was raining. The drops spattered the sea, and filled the bilge tanks on board. Two strong men manned the bilge pump on each ship. The rigging was furled in waterproof bags.

But Alanna was there not for the boats, but for the people. Two days previously, she had received an anonymous letter to say that she would not be disappointed if she met the writer there, on Jentje.

Suddenly, a hand clamped itself over her mouth. She tried to scream, but the hand wouldn’t let her. She felt a stunning, glancing blow to the back of her head, and everything went black.

When Alanna woke, she was in darkness. It was hard to tell whether her eyes were open or closed. She tried to rub her eyes, but was caught with a jerk. Her hands were bound together and tied to her waist, and her feet were tied together. She was pinned halfway up a wall. In other words, she was trussed up like a chicken. She wriggled and struggled, but to no avail. As she felt the dark shroud of despair settle over her, she began to weep soundlessly, like a little lost child, wishing for a hand to hold.

For what seemed like forever, she waited in the dark. Suddenly, a door opened. Rough, strong hands tugged her from the wall, and dumped her on a pile of sacks. She saw the hand threading a rope through the tops of a row of full sacks. Suddenly aware of what was to happen, she squirmed and twisted, but it was no use. The man put a heavy blindfold over her eyes, a coarse gag in her mouth, and tied the sacks firmly over her her roped body.

“There now, m’pretty,” rasped the man. “We wouldn’t want you rolling around and getting hurt, would we? There’s a storm a’comin’.”

For an age, Alanna lay there, roped to the boards. She felt the boat pitch and roll with every wave. A sudden shudder ran through the boat. Alanna felt water lapping around her. She called out in alarm, but the gag muffled the noise. She felt the waves cover her mouth and nose. But Alanna felt strangely peaceful. As she felt Death lift her from her body, she breathed out all her faults, impurities and fears, and her last feeling was that of joy.