17/10/2011 Dave Cryer http://www.davecryer.co.uk/

[WP Central]

The Catapult

 

There’s nothing to steal in our house. The only thing that I’ve got that I couldn’t bear losing, apart from my dad and my two younger brothers, is my granddad’s catapult. And if anyone tried to steal that, they’d have to steal me cos it’s always on me, always in my pocket and always with one stone ready. No point in having a weapon if you’ve no ammunition. And you always need to be ready to use it. Otherwise it’s just a toy isn’t it. And toys are for kids.

I’m twelve years old. My name is Sime. I’m writing this down in case I’m next. If you find this I might be dead or I might need you to rescue me.

           

It all began on Tuesday just gone, when I got home from school. We don’t really have keys. The front door is always locked, but only cos we don’t use it. We don’t know where the key is. It’s probably in a drawer somewhere with all the other tat that’s not worth nicking.

So I walked in the unlocked back door just like I always do . . .

 

[N Francis]

And found that I was not alone, someone was in the house. I couldn’t see them but I felt a presence, I had a tremble in my stomach, felt just like butterflies were flying around in there. It sounds weird but that’s what I honestly felt, and I wasn’t wrong.
There he was in the kitchen. He noticed me. I ran. He followed. I ran to the front door only to find the door was locked. He cornered me and got out his knife, it was sharp and as shiny as the moon. “Don’t move or I’ll slit your throat now where is it?” “W…. where’s what?” “The catapult you little brat”. I felt into my pocket and grinned. “You have it don’t you know be a nice kid and hand it over” “OK but why do you want it so much, what is it’s value to you” “Oh the kid with all the questions, right you want answers I’ll give ‘em, that catapult you have there is King Arthur’s, ancient that thing, priceless” “Really, but how did you know where to find it” “The family tree you idiot, you are related to royalty, you are his great great great great grandchild”. “T… that’s impossible I think I would know if I was related to royalty”. “Enough talking hand it over, NOW”. “NO!” And the chase was on.

By Conor Jordan and Jakub Krol, St Benedict’s Catholic Upper School.

[Caroline Roche]

I was running for my life, up the stairs, round the corners. I was fighting for my breath as I ran down the stairs. I rummaged throught the draws in the kichen to find my asthma pump. I ran out into the open street scearming,” help help,help me please! “
“theres no point little boy no one can hear you.” The psycho laughed under his balaclaver.
“ why cant anybody hear me?”the boy muttered anxiously,
“ I froze the wold for this very moment!”the psycho explaned.
He ran and ran for as long as he can but his asthma kicked him painfully in his chest with every move.
By Robyn,Freya and Rachel Holmesdale Technology College

[Karen King - Oakbank School]

Running in to a maze of alleyways I felt as if I would collapse at any moment. Taking a variety of different twists and turns hoping to lose my pursuer, I turned a corner thinking I’d evaded the psycho. But there he was standing waiting for me with a grin on his face, but his face looked as if it was blurred and distorted. I realised he had part of a pair of tights over his face making him look as if his face was melting. He pulled a knife from his belt and charged towards me as though I was a vulnerable animal being hunted by a predator…

Suddenly he started waving the knife about wildly, shouting and screaming that they’d never get him, and that no one should be moving because he’d frozen the world and he was going to steal King Arthur’s catapult. The reality came crashing down on me – the man was completely insane…..

 

By Hameed and Blake, Oakbank School

[Allison Painich]

While I was running away from the psycho, I saw a man inside a car. I rushed over to it, and I asked for HELP! The man was as frozen as a statue. It was true what that psycho said and somehow he really froze the world. Suddenly the psycho was in back of him and stabbed him in his back kiling him. The psycho steals the catapult and leaves the knife in Sime's back leaving him to suffer. Later on in time, something comes out of Sime's grave which was actually his soul. Sime's soul searches every house looking for revenge on the psycho who killed him. Sime finally found the psycho and confronted him. The psycho says, "I'm sorry for what I did to you. I repent my act, but I have changed. I have a family now." "Your family will pay for what you did to my family and me," said Sime's soul. Then, Sime's soul disappeared and the ex-psycho heard his daughter screamed. He rushed to his daughter's bedroom and saw her dead. For every day that passed, one of his family memeber's died. The ex-psycho was the last of his family members alive. He suddenly heard a whisper say, "You're next...."

Jhovany, Darvin, Maylee, and George
PS 319
New York

[Dave Cryer]

Brilliant. Well done to all of you on all of this. Some high action, real tension, great descriptions and sharp dialogue - a very pacy continuation for Sime. At the end I thought he was done for, but when his soul came back for revenge, that was a brilliant idea. I also liked the cliffhanger ending, but felt sure Sime would win the day in the end. Great writing guys n gals!