Tim was wide awake at twelve o’clock. He told himself he had to go to bed so he made a bed with what he found: a beige sofa, a red blanket and a pink dressing gown which he scrunched up to use as a pillow. He settled down and closed his eyes…
He was running through the streets, a man was shouting “Tim, run!” over and over. There was a gunshot, then he heard the tortoise lady scream.
Tim woke with a start. He discovered cold sweat on his forehead and he felt feverish. He then had a sudden urge to see the tortoise lady. He ran to every room.
He suddenly came across a door that was slightly ajar. He ran in calling “Ma’am, Ma’am!” but no reply came. He turned on a lamp but he wished that he had kept the light off because the gruelling sight that lay before him would make even an undertaker’s stomach lurch.
He saw the tortoise lady’s face as pale as the snow white sheet that lay on top of her. There was a vast patch of crimson red in the middle of the blanket. Tim knew straight away what had happened to poor, frail and kind hearted Arabella Stoneheart. Her heart had indeed became as lifeless as a stone.
One Way Journey [Extract]
Gemma Davies, Bro Myrddin
When it snows in the middle of July you know there is something wrong. It’s not normal but nor is my life. I have never lived a normal life. I’m not a normal girl, but that’s just me….
My name is Kayla. Kayla James? Kayla Williams? Kayla Evans…? I don’t actually know what my surname is. I don’t remember my mum, dad or my twin brother Keyn. They were in a car accident, and as far as I know they all passed away.
It was a very sad time in my life but as I was only three I didn’t know much about it. They were going for a swim, and I was left with my auntie. I think my auntie Lola regrets saying yes to babysitting me. Auntie Lola has always had something against me ever since her babysitting session turned from three hours to many, many years! I was born on April Fool’s day so I guess my whole life has been a joke.
My Auntie Lola and I live in a one-bedroom council flat. Auntie Lola hasn’t got a job or money. She walked out on her parents and quit school when she was just fourteen. Because of that she now can’t afford to do anything and hasn’t got the qualifications for a job. We share an old dirty mattress on the floor with mice living inside it. There’s no television or couch, just a few mouldy cardboard boxes to sit on. We’ve got no carpets or heating and we live off the light of the sun and the odd flicker of the light bulb. To top it all off, Auntie Lola is a nasty, lazy, smelly old hag with no sense of humour and no care in the world for anyone but herself. She only fostered me for the money and to have a free servant!
Then we’ve got my school. Ducy High it was originally called, but as it stands today it’s not hard to see why everyone calls it “Dumpcy High School.” It’s better than my auntie’s little flat but it is still an absolute dump! My mum and dad were both wealthy and well respected people. They were both heart surgeons and earned a great deal, but they spent it very carefully. If the accident hadn’t happened I would have had my own bedroom, my own furniture, clean water... but it did happen and here I am. They left all the money to my auntie.
Auntie Lola has a drug addiction and a smoking addiction which is leading her to death. If she had spent the money wisely she would have a house, a life, a future. But now she is heading to the graveyard with me watching it all.
I am fed up of being her servant. Auntie Lola never does anything for herself. She is going clubbing tonight yet again. Leaving me on my own. I can’t stand her anymore, staggering home in the early hours of the morning. Tonight I am going to pack my bags and leave. But I’m not leaving until she gets what she deserves…
“Remember Kelsey,” Auntie Lola shouted up the stairs.
“It’s Kayla!” I shouted back cheekily.
“I don’t care what your name is, just remember to put a FRESH glass of water by the mattress for me when I come home.” And with that she slammed the door behind her. As if I would forget her “f-r-e-s-h glass of water”. It was the most important thing to do today.
It wasn’t very hard to put the oven cleaner in the glass. It was see-through so you couldn’t see a difference. Especially if you were drunk drinking it! That was the easiest part of my plan. After that I hid behind the cardboard boxes until my auntie came home.
I was terrified watching her gulp down her “water”, terrified in case she spotted what I had done. I started to panic about it. Was I really going to let the person who had looked after me for the last twelve long years just disappear...?
By the time these thoughts had come into my mind I saw my auntie shiver and then sit down. My legs were trembling as I watched her, I saw her eyes roll back and she collapsed. That was it. I heard no breathing. That’s when I realised I had actually killed my auntie.
That was a few days ago. Now I don’t have anywhere to go. I’ve got my skateboard and my rucksack. I don’t fancy turning myself in for care, it would be much better than where I was living but I don’t want to feel locked up again.
I had no food, but then again I hardly had any living in the flat. Thinking about it now, I am glad I did what I did to Auntie Lola. I still feel very guilty but she deserved it. After all, she should have been very glad I didn’t phone the police on her!
I am just walking and walking and walking. I swear I must have walked the same route over and over again. I honestly don’t know where to go, but there is no turning back now. I have just got to keep – on – walking…
I stayed in an old bus stop. There were mostly old men there and I didn’t feel very safe so I only stayed for a couple of nights before I found the “grafts”. It’s called the “grafts” because every wall is covered in graffiti. It’s an old tunnel that hadn’t been used for years before Matthew and Sam found it. Matthew and Sam are the gang’s leaders. There are ten of us living in the ‘grafts’. I was very lucky to have found the place, and I was the tenth and final person to be allowed in.
I got a very warm welcome. First I got introduced to the third, fourth and fifth people to find the ‘graft’, the triplets Sarah, Chris and Hannah. They have all got bright ginger hair, cute brown freckles and always have a cheeky smile on their faces. They are only five years old and very short. They are so cute.
Then I met the sixth and seventh people to find the place, Harley and Elis, two brothers who are only seven and nine. Mischievous characters with a great sense of humour. As soon as I met Harley and Elis it made me feel a little upset knowing that I would never again see my brother... Then I met Emily, the oldest of us girls. She is seventeen going on twenty-five. She is very mature and very helpful. She always seems to know when there is something wrong and always has the right words to cheer you up.
Then I was introduced to Keyn. I was shocked. Completely shocked… Could this be the Keyn I thought had died twelve long years ago? My own twin brother?
Glyndwr’s Crown [Extract]
Garmon Dyfri, Bro Myrddin
Jade is a new student at Taff Valley School in Cardiff. After travelling from Carmarthen, she is placed in the House of Glyndwr. When a mysterious old lady gives her a rather secretive amulet, all sort of things begin to happen for her and her new friend Rhys. Will they beat the headmaster and the caretaker to the Crown? And will they discover who they are in their quest to find Glyndwr’s Crown?