June reviews from St Kilda

Wild Wood by Colin Meloy - reviewed by Linus

Wild wood is about a girl and her little brother who are abducted by a murder of crows. She sees crows go into the wood and she follows them. Not many people go to these woods. She finds people in the wild wood and sees coyotes there that can talk and fight with swords. Her baby brother calls her Poo instead of Prue.

Good illustrations - "I have read it about 5 times."

5 reallys

The throne of fire by Rick Riordan - reviewed by Jack

This is the 2^nd book in the Kane Chronicles. The two main characters are a brother and sister - Carter, who is 14, and Sadie, who is 13, and Sadie’s boyfriend is the god Anubis. Their quest is to find the long lost sun god Ra. There are 3 parts of the scroll called the Book of Ra. They become friends with the god Bes.

5 reallys

When we were two by Robert Newton - reviewed by Georgia

Georgia starts off with a warning – don’t read this book if you are bad with sad endings!

Two boys run away from home when their drunk dad drowns puppies in the river. They go to find their mother. It is set in Queensland, Australia.

"It's good. There's always something you want to find out. Curious, interesting."

4.5 reallys

Piddler on the roof - a story from the book Funniest stories by Paul Jennings - reviewed by Will

About a man and a boy, every night they pee out in the garden and one day the water has buds in it so the boy has to go to his aunts and uncles house. The boy who lives there always tells on him. One night he pees out in the garden and the boy tells on him, so one night he is busting and he pees out the window but it is going into the tank. They are always boasting about how clear their water is.

4.9 reallys

The princess bride : the "good parts" version by William Goldman - reviewed by Netta

It’s about a girl who is brought up on a farm by her parents, her name is Buttercup, and a farm boy called Wesley. At first she bosses him around but she falls in love with him then he says he has to go. Three pirates track her down and take her away. Wesley finds her.

"Adventurous – I recommend it."

4 reallys

A friend for grace by Sofie Laguna - reviewed by Elsa

It’s about people in the olden days. She steals an apple for her horse and is imprisoned. Now she is on a boat going to Australia. They don’t get lots of food on the boat. You find out how hard it was back in those days.

"Easy but good."

4.5 reallys

Sisterhood of the travelling pants by Ann Brashares - reviewed by Lucy

This is about four girls who have been best friends since they were babies – now they are 16. They are about to spend the first summer of their lives apart. They are all going to different places. The night before they go they buy a pair of pants that fits them all and they make a plan that over the summer they will send the pants around to each other and all get a turn to wear them, and the pants will bring them luck.

"Sounds really cheesy, but it’s not – it’s really nice!”

5 reallys

The ballet shoes by Noel Streatfeild - reviewed by Charlotte

I’ve read the one about the glass slippers which is about a girl Delphi who goes on adventures. When her ballet shoes glow at night, she puts them on and she goes to enchanter and there is a girl there sitting on a chair crying. The king turns back the time so she couldn’t go to the ball and meet the prince. Delphi tries to help.

4.5 reallys

 

Fear by Michael Grant, 5th book in the Gone series - reviewed by Max

It’s about a guy with a hand that’s a whip. Drake is dangerous and an immortal. An evil guy gives him a whip for an arm.

5 reallys

The demon apocalypse by Darren Shan - reviewed by Oriana

This is about Grubs Grady. He is a magician who fights the demons. The demon master, Lord Loss, is trying to open the tunnel between the demon world and the human world.

5 reallys

The disappearing TV star by Emily Rodda - part of the mystery series Teen Power Inc. - reviewed by Lily

About a girl who applies for work, and all the work has some kind of mystery. There is an ad for a chocolate bar called 'the lot' and it has everything in it. The TV star is doing a competition and has to go against another TV star. Reporters kidnap her. The mystery is finally solved in the end.

4.9 reallys

_________________________________________

There were no reviews from Albert Park this month - badge-making was the order of the day for their last meeting!

A new writing competition....

Let your imagination go WILD!!

3 x $70.00  &  3 x $40.00 book vouchers to be won!

Sorry, this competition is now closed but stay tuned - winners will be notified on Monday, 6 August and winning entries will be published after that date!

Writers will choose from the following two passages as their opening: 

"It was strange, like nothing they had experienced before. Sam was reminded of a childhood picture book... where the walls became the world all around. Oh yes, it was 'Where the wild things are' by Maurice Sendak. Sam must have read it and had it read to him a thousand times but he had never expected to be reminded of it like this..."

 or 

"They could see land, they could see trees and plants, but not much else. What would they find there? Finn suddenly remembered a favourite old picture book where a boy sailed to the place where the wild things are. Would there be wild things here? he wondered..."

Maximum 1500 words.

Entries close Friday, 20 July.

Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:


Send your entry with your name, phone number and DOB to library@portphillip.vic.gov.au or drop it into your nearest library branch. Enquiries to Linda Todd, 9209 6526.

Winners will be notified Monday, 6 August. We will publish winning entries on the Lightning Readers blog!

 

Here they are ... the long-awaited writing competition winning entries!

The challenge was to write a story starting with the sentence "I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me..." and the winners are:

Category 1: 7-8 age group:

• Melisand, aged 8 - received a $70 book voucher for A mystery for Dr. Monkey
• Olivia, aged 8 - received a $40 book voucher for The cat crusade!

Category 2: 9-10 age group:

• Oriana, aged 10 - received a $70 voucher for Nine lives
• Bronte, aged 9 - received a $40 voucher for Lost

Category 3: 11-12 age group:

• Persephone, aged 12 - received a $70 voucher for Strange shadow
• Jonathan, aged 12 - received a $40 voucher for The great escape

Congratulations and thanks everyone for entering - it's always a tough decision to pick from such a high standard of writing ... but we have another competition coming soon so maybe you will be a winner too ... stay tuned for more information!!

A mystery for Dr. Monkey ... by Melisand

I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me. I remembered suddenly that I was at wonderful Aunty Sloth's jungle bungalow. Now, that black cat, it seemed to have an eye patch over his left eye. By the way, I'm Dr. Monkey, famous for solving mysteries. Perhaps you've heard of my previous case "The missing parrot statue?" Anyway, I decided to find out why that cat had an eye patch.

So I, Dr. Monkey, thought up Plan A to solve this mystery. Following my plan I asked Aunty Sloth 5 questions:

• When did you get the cat?
• How long have you had the cat?
• How old is the cat?
• Has it always had an eye patch?
• What is the cat's name?

From her answers I came to the conclusion I had to go back in time. I hadn't really planned this because I didn't know where the questions would lead me, but I had planned making an attack on the wounder. So (in just half an hour) I built a superb time passing vehicle that ran on lemon skins. I commanded this machine to go back to 1997 immediately!

I landed in an amazing looking garden with gold statues and willows, gum trees and bushes shaped as ducks. It looked as if a duke lived there but soon I found out that really only an old, evil and extremely rich witch lived here.

Suddenly a witch appeared. I had to quickly jump into a gum tree that stood next to me so as not to be seen. That old witch clapped her hands once and shrieked at the top of her voice "Crystal!" Almost at once a black kitten crawled out of a (sky blue) window.

"That dreaded cat never uses its abilities to come quickly to me", the rotten witch grumbled.

At once I leapt down onto the startled witch yelling "That cat is only a kitten. Would you expect that kitten knows its abilities yet?" "er ..er ..um .. no" the witch replied stammering.

But she quickly recovered and started to chase me, with the kitten at my heels. I ran towards the house with the ugly witch shouting "Brat, spoilt, selfish, nasty little brat!" behind me. I ran inside the house, angry with the mean witch. Fortunately I saw a door to my left. I looked behind and spied the witch just entering the house still yelling nasty and horrible curses. I dashed into the room with the kitten in my arms.

I was lucky that the annoying witch didn't follow me, but she did keep calling "Come out my stubborn brat". I would always reply "Yoohoo, I'm in this room" trying to trick her.

While the horrible witch tried to find me, I thought up Plan B. She finally passed by. I escaped through a trapdoor (which was part of Plan B) and the kitten and I were able to sneak out.

But as soon as we got out we found that my superb time passing vehicle was in pieces. The kitten started to wriggle and jiggle as if to mew "Let me down". As I dropped him, his nose went green and twitched about. Sparkles came from the tips of his tail and landed amongst the pieces of my time passing vehicle. Magically it was rebuilt! I demanded to go back to 2012 and off we went, with the kitten growing bigger by the second as we travelled forward in time. As the cat grew the sores it had from the witch catnapping him slowly faded away.

When I arrived home Aunty Sloth was the most active sloth that has ever lived because she was excited to see me and surprised that the cat was now unwounded! I questioned Aunty, "Are you a witch or are you related to witches?" and she replied, "Yes..."

The cat crusade ... by Olivia

I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me. He introduced himself as King Titan, the king of cats. "Well not ALL cats.” he said. Then he explained about his lost kittens and the bad cat Black Boris.

King Titan suspected the bad cat Black Boris had taken his kittens and he needed my help. "So, will you do it?" he asked. "Please?" he begged. "Alright" I said. "Right" he said, "Let's go." "Where?" I asked. "Cat Kingdom, of course, silly." And with that he bounded off to a nearby hole that I had never noticed before.

I decided to follow King Titan to Cat Kingdom. We slid down a slippery slide and landed on a soft dark green patch of four leaf clovers.

We then set off towards the back of the palace. “The kittens might be hiding in the garden,” said King Titan.

When we were finished looking the king said in a worried voice “I think we should look by the river.” “Just to be sure they didn’t fall in.” he added.

While we were walking down towards the river I stumbled across a black hole. I called out to King Titan “King Titan, I think I found something.” So King Titan came bounding over to stand beside me. “WOW” he said “I really think you have found the winning clue so far.” “I think we should follow the tunnel and see where it leads to”. “Good idea!” said King Titan.

So I stepped carefully into the squishy hole. I crawled a little way and then I felt it go up a little bit and I thought to myself “we must be nearly there”.

Finally I saw some light, I was at the end of the tunnel. I looked out and saw a land full of black cats. “This must be where Black Boris lives” I called to King Titan. I called him to come up and have a look. He stopped, and stared! I looked and stared. “King Titan, are they your kittens?” I asked. “Yes” he nodded.

It was getting dark and all the black cats were going to bed so we climbed out of the tunnel and tiptoed over to where the kittens were standing.

King Titan whispered to the kittens “Be quiet, we are going to take you home”. The five of us tiptoed back to the hole and crawled home.

We found Queen Titiana and tucked the kittens into bed and told the queen what had happened. Queen Titiana called some servants to seal up the hole so they could live safely and happily ever after!

Nine lives ... by Oriana

I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me. “Aaarrghhh!!!” I yelled. The cat jumped off my chest and landed on the floor with a dull thud. I must have rolled off the bed in my sleep, because I don’t remember sleeping on the floor. The weird cat had given me a fright, and I was slightly shaking from the unexpected scare. How had the cat gotten in? I looked around my small room but none of my three windows were open. I shrugged. Where was the cat now? Ah, there it is. Sitting on my stereo like it owned the place! I cautiously crept over to the cat. It was a Siamese, with narrow eyes and a cut ear. It stayed still as a statue as I quickly checked its collar. Huh? The little circles that owners usually put the pets name and owner’s phone number in were blank! Hmmm. Strange. I opened the window and shooed the cat out. As it jumped out it turned and hissed at me. I stumbled back, alarmed by its sudden change of mood. Then I started to scorn myself. It was only a cat. Just a cat. I checked to see if it was coming back once more, and it wasn’t, so I started to get dressed.

As I trudged slowly to school, I felt glum. Things weren’t looking up for me lately. I was a nice kid. My name was Mike Peligrini, and I had blond hair and green eyes, and was 12 years old. I had a little, annoying 7 year old sis called Megsie. Me and my best friend Charlie Roberts were in a big fight and still hadn’t forgiven each other yet. We both pretended to have no problem eating and playing alone, but really we were miserable. I tried to forget my problems and raced ahead to school.

School was the same as usual. English, writing, math, spelling, Spanish, gym and art. Eating and “playing” by myself, alone. I trudged slowly back home. “Anything wrong?” mum asked.  “No. Doesn’t matter.” I replied. I went into my room. I thought I saw the cat out the window, but no. Must have been a hallucination. I plonked myself down on my bed. I was so tired from the day my eyes instantly drooped and I fell asleep.  

‘Dinner time’ I heard mum calling from the kitchen. ‘Okay’ I called back. I rushed to the table. I hadn’t realized how ravenous I was. It was lasagna, my favourite. I gulped it down and raced back into my room. I was reading a really cool book, The Hunger Games. Mum said that if I read the book I could see the movie. I read a bit but then decided I was too tired. I put my head on the pillow and fell into a deep sleep.

"5-00!" I yelled. "5-00?! You woke me up at 5-00!!" “I’m sorry.” Megsie said. “Not as sorry as you’re going to be!!!” I yelled. I chased after her, but she beat me to her room and locked it. I gave up, and trudged sleepily back to my room. I lay on the bed and fell asleep.

9-00. I quickly buttered my toast and raced out the door. No, I wasn’t looking forward to school, but I didn’t want to be late, either. It would make me look bad in front of Charlie. I know it sounds selfish, but if I did, he would never let me hear the end of it.

‘Mrow.’ I looked around. Nothing. ‘Meow.’ There it is! On Mr. Shifties fence. The same cat that woke me up. I’m going to get that cat! I leapt over fences, jumped over cars, ran through backyards, and avoided angry barking dogs. I kept on running… and running… and running…

Finally the cat stopped. I rested, out of breath. The cat had stopped at – what? My place. It nudged at the door. No. I started walking back to school, then running, then sprinting. Even at the pace I was going, by the time I got there I was half an hour late. It was math. Our math teacher Mr. Gregory was in the middle of teaching long division.  I tried to sneak in quietly but he caught me. ‘Mr. Pellegrini can you explain to us what is more important than math studies?’  ‘Oh, I just got caught up in a few things.’  I said. Mr. Gregory narrowed his eyes. ‘You’ll be speaking with me at snack time Mr. Pellegrini.’ He said sternly. I told him the usual. I had missed the bus and had spent too long pleading for Mum to give me a lift. He bought it and dismissed me.

I raced home that afternoon eager to find the mysterious cat. I looked everywhere, even the cellar. The one place I hadn’t looked was the basement. I crept over to it. In the back of my mind a voice told me that I had only been avoiding the basement because the cat was there. I crept down the stairs quietly. There was a sound like a tyre deflating. I flicked on the torch that I had brought with me. Light illuminated the basement eerily. There it was, sitting on top of the washing machine, hissing – now I knew what was making that sound. I seem to be drawn to it. As I stepped toward it I noticed it had a gem at its feet. Do you want power?  It said. 

Wait, No, that’s impossible, cats can’t talk. And its lips weren’t moving. But I’m sure I heard a voice. And this time it wasn’t mine. Take it. The cat pushed the gem forward. Okaaayy… this was weird. But what was the worst that could happen? It was a cat. I shrugged and reached out to grab the sparkling gem. As I clasped the gem in my hand, I felt power course through me. I looked at the cat and saw it smiling. No. a voice in the back of my head said. My voice. No. you are stronger than this. Fight it. I shuddered as the power grew stronger. Fight what? The cat. It has eight lives. If it wins, it will take you’re life and have nine lives once more. Do you want a cat to take your life? A cat?!!!  

I looked at the sly animal. Furry manipulator. I dropped the gem. Nothing happened. I expected the power to stop, for me to be back to normal. But no, the power was still flowing freely as ever. I thought about it. Then I saw the cat. It was not grinning now, but almost laughing at my expense. This made me angry. Very angry. I focused all my attention on the power that was coursing through me. I visualized it in my mind, the power inside me, like a flow of water. I concentrated on reversing the flow, making it flow out of my body. Gradually it started slowing, then stopped. It started flowing out of my body, and the power started to subside. It grew weaker and weaker as I flowed it out of my body.

Finally it was all gone. I collapsed onto the floor, suddenly overwhelmingly exhausted. I saw the cat. It had its mouth open. Something flashed in its eyes, then was gone just as suddenly as it had appeared. The number 7. So this had taken a life out of him. I stepped on the gem, crushing it, and wished the cat’s next victim good luck. Now for my own victory…Yes!!! I won! Against the evil psycho Siamese!!! I pumped my fists in the air, despite how tired I was.

I HAD WON!!!

Lost ... by Bronte

I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me.  Its eyes were darker than the midnight sky, but if you looked closer into its mean eyes there were red flames. I tried to get up but my feet were numb from the cold winter air. As I finally got to my feet, I had just realized I was on the ground. I looked around. Windows were smashed, books were everywhere.  Suddenly I turned around. The cat was gone. I looked down. There was a glove. It was covered in dark, red blood. Then I had a thought in my head that I wished I hadn’t thought of. 

I rushed downstairs. I yelled, “MUM, DAD! ANSWER ME!”  I heard my mum’s soft, gentle voice. I came straight to her. She tried not to get me scared. She started speaking, and then she paused. I realised something.

“Mum, where’s Sister and why is my room a mess?” “Your sister is missing.” “What?” Even though I have always hated her, there was a hole in my sad gut. I started to cry.  Tears were dripping down my face. “Why didn’t they take me?”

That day we took the glove down to the police. That’s when the search happened. That night I couldn’t stop thinking about the cat and the way it looked at me. The next morning the police came to the house looking for clues. They found some finger prints.  

That night I left a note saying that I have gone to the woods to look for Sister. So I set out for the journey. I walked into the woods. The trees had no leaves. It was like all the happiness had been sucked out. As I walked deeper it got creepier. I started to think someone was following me. Suddenly I saw a flash of a black creature with red flaming eyes. I stood there. Everything around me froze. The same cat I saw on the floor was back but it wasn’t frozen.  

I yelled out, “What do you want?” But it stayed just staring at me. I thought he was trying to tell me something. I went up to it, suddenly I heard thunder. It was so loud, it sounded like an earthquake. It started raining. Rain was falling at the speed of wind. Right then when you think nothing can get any worse, I heard a scream. It was ear piercing. Then I realised what they were screaming about. 

Lightning struck in all different directions. I tried to run but the mud was so thick I fell and the next thing I knew I woke up soaking wet and freezing cold. I got up and tried walking back thinking about a warm bath but then I thought about Sister and all the other children getting stolen or getting killed. I heard my little cousin has already been killed. I had to stop this even if it meant me losing my life. At least I was saving others. 

After two hours of walking I hit a big lush bush with berries on it. I collected some then I decided to look through the bush. There was a tent. Then I saw Sister. I snuck through the bush  I started untying her, but I felt a gust of cold air on my neck. I turned around and saw a tall scary looking man. He was wearing all black clothes. Then I looked down ... he was wearing one glove. 

“I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.”          

I ran as fast as I could but I was too late. He grabbed my hand. I tried to pull away but he was too strong. Luckily I threw the phone to Sister in the bush. I yelled, “000.”

She knew what I meant and straight away she was on the phone with the police. But then the man saw her and started going towards her. I had to think fast. I grabbed the closest stick. I whacked it at his head. He fell down.

I asked Sister, “Are you OK?” She said, “I think I broke my leg.” I said, “Sit down. The police will be here.”

Finally they got here. They thanked us but we still had to go to the hospital. My sister broke her leg and she had a couple of scars. I had twisted my ankle and had a long scar across my face. But in the end everything was fine...

One month later the kidnapper had escaped!!

Strange shadow ... by Persephone

I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me. The cat's gold eyes stared, stared at me like two bright beacons. I quickly got up. The floor was familiar, and not familiar at the same time.

Its woven carpet made movement easy, but I was still stiff. I don't remember being knocked out, but I must have been out for a while if my muscles had tensed up. I stood up, did a few stretches and walked out the room. A long hallway of blackness loomed before me. The cat walked to my side and stood, hair standing up on its back.

We stared together down the hallway. I took one step and the cat moved with me. I took another step, and another. I started walking cautiously down the corridor, until I felt comfortable enough to jog. I looked back. The cat had stopped. It blended in with the shadows, the only thing visible were its big, bright beacon eyes.

I stopped. I waited. I began to whistle and click my fingers, tempting it to come to me. It took one look at me and turned away. I watched it fade into the blackness, and then started falling.

The shadows enclosed around me, growing ever tighter until, everything released itself, and I could breathe again. The room around me was pure white. The cat sat at the doorway. I noticed its fur was jet black, the same color as my cat. Coincidence? I walked towards the cat. I kneeled down, and scratched under it's chin, but before I could even get a purr out of it, it vanished.

I got up, and everything went black again. I waited for the falling sensation and the walls closing tighter around me, but nothing. I heard voices but nothing else. The room suddenly turned white again, like someone flicked a light switch, and I realized instantly I wasn't alone. Strange shadows painted the opposite wall, some were still, but others twitched and moved around crazily.

I stared at them. Many things I have stared at in wonder, but this really changed my view of things. Was it a crazy light  trick? Or was it some kind of hallucination? Well, for all I know, they're shadows. I walked backwards out the door, not taking my eyes off the shadows. Big mistake. I suddenly lost my footing and fell through darkness again. Black, shadows, ever tightening walls and then, nothing. I was getting sick of this.

I stared around. This room looked completely normal. A cafe from the looks of it. But there were no people.

No one sitting, chatting, serving or using a computer. Nothing and no one. I walked out the front door into a deserted street. Tall, glass skyscrapers towered over me. And when I say glass, I mean glass. They looked as though they would shatter into a thousand tiny, and lets not forget sharp, pieces.

The cat, its hair as black as the void, stared at me. Golden eyes, piercing my body. I walked towards it. I suddenly remembered something from when I was falling through darkness, something the tightening walls had blocked. The shadows, twitching and all, and that cat were there. They watched me fall. I looked down at the cat. It was gone. I looked left and right, but no sign of it. Well, it was getting annoying anyway. I turned and came face to face with a pure black man. I realized instantly, he was one of the twitching shadows. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Then without thinking, I ran.

The skyscrapers shattered as I ran. The shadow was untouched, but I kept going. I reached the end of the road, and stared at a long deep drop. I turned. There stood the shadow. I could endure  tight spaces if only to get away from it. I leaned back, letting my body fall. I fell slowly, twisting gracefully. Then I hit something.

I sat up, feeling the warm bed covers around me. I stared at a black fur ball at the end of my bed. I smiled. Just a dream.

My cat woke up as I got out of bed. I walked to the door, and turned. Bright, gold, beacon eyes stared at me. Damn.

The great escape ... by Jonathan

I woke up on the floor with a strange cat staring at me. As I stood up, the cat walked off into the dark. “What was going on?” I thought to myself. Then I remembered that I had been captured by slavers overnight. As I peered around, I saw there were coils of rope and fishing nets thrown all over the place. I picked one of the lengths of rope and put it in my pocket. It might be useful. I saw the wooden walls were curved. That must mean the slavers took me by boat. There would be no escape until I arrived. For now I should rest, I was still feeling dizzy from the confrontation. I heard a male voice from above saying “Should I check on the kid?” A second voice, another man, replied, “Yes, and if he’s awake, knock him out again. The boss said not to take any more chances.” Quick as I could, I ran to where I was before. I lay down, closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

The door opened and I heard the sound of boots coming towards me. Suddenly the noise stopped and I could hear his heavy breathing. An awful smell of dried fish drifted up my nose.  The smell was unbearable! I tried to keep it in but I couldn’t! I coughed at exactly the same time as there was a yell from above. Had he heard me? I stayed still and waited for him to react but nothing happened. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes. The cat from before was sitting beside me. I got another whiff of that awful smell, so it must have been the cat not the man’s breath. As I looked at the cat, I noticed his eyes were emerald green and its fur was black as night.

Next thing I knew, the boat had stopped. One of the men shook me really hard and said “Get up!” I opened my eyes and got up. The man was big with scars on his face. He tied my hands behind my back and put a cloth in front of my eyes so I couldn’t see. He pushed me to walk.  We must be getting off the boat. Finally we stopped and the man took the cloth off. We stood in front of a big, empty building. He took me to the back of the building, to a storage room. He threw me in. “You’re sleeping here tonight kid,” said the man and he locked the door behind him.

As I sat on the cold stone floor rubbing my bruise, I saw a window. I looked closer. There were bars behind the window. I had to get out of here. I got up and looked around for things that might be useful. Something came out of the shadows - the cat from the ship! It was pushing a crowbar towards me. Odd! “Thanks puss”, I said. I lifted the crowbar over my head and smashed the window. Glass went everywhere. I started on the bars. I heard shouting outside and I heard the door being unlocked. Two men walked in and I squeezed through the bars and out I went.  

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn’t care where I was going, I just had to get away.  The two men ran behind me. Sooner or later they were going to catch up. I needed a hiding place. I ducked under a pipe into a narrow lane, but then I came to a tall brick wall! A dead end! How was I supposed to get out of this one? The two men appeared at the end of the lane.  I looked around for any means of escape. The cat from the ship was there again, sitting on a rubbish bin, hidden in the shadows next to the wall.

I climbed on top of the bin and jumped onto the brick wall, but one of the men grabbed my leg and began to pull me down. I lost my grip and crashed back into him. I got up but the man gripped me by the hand. I bit him and knocked him out with a punch to the head. The other man tackled me to the ground but I kicked him hard. His head hit the wall and he fell cold. I got the rope out of my pocket and tied their hands. Quickly I ran back down the street until I came to an entrance to a sewer. I found a girl and a boy sitting next to a small fire, the girl was distinctly older. Then it all went black. It was all too much.

I was woken by the cat, licking my face. I sat up and saw the two children again. I touched my head and felt a bandage around my head. “Don’t touch”, said the girl, “You will be all right. My name is Jasmine and this is my brother Jack. What happened?”. “I’m Jono. Please help me to get away from the slavers!”. “You are joking, right?” Jack laughed. “No one escapes the slavers. They have spies everywhere. You don’t stand a chance!”. “We’ll try to help you,” said Jasmine. “Jack, please find someone who can transport Jono back home.” “Yes sir!” jeered Jack and he left.  

Jasmine took me to the town centre. It was a very busy place and the streets were full of people selling food and other stuff. As we walked past some stalls, a crowd separated Jasmine and I.  When the crowd cleared, I looked around for Jasmine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two men who had taken me and another man in a black coat. He must be the boss. They were talking quietly. I moved to the stall next to them so I could hear their conversation. They were planning to capture all the children in town and use them as slaves!  I stepped back to get away but I stepped on a bowl. The men turned. “It’s him! Get him! He heard our plans!” said the man in the black coat. I got up quickly and run. I slipped into the crowd, out of sight. When I found Jasmine, I told her everything. “We got to report them”, I said. Jasmine did not say anything but took me to a fruit shop.

The shop was dim and full of fruits. An old woman appeared from nowhere. “Hello Jasmine.  Who is your friend here?” said the old woman. She was stroking the black cat from the ship.  “Grandma, meet Jono”, Jasmine quickly introduced me and explained the situation. The old woman nodded. “This is Emerald. He is magic. If he helped you before, he will help you again.  Emerald only helps people that he likes. He will show you the way”. Emerald walked out of the shop. “Well, follow him”, said the old woman.  We followed Emerald.

He led us back to the sewer and disappeared when we saw Jack. “Did you find anything Jack?” asked Jasmine. “Yeah, I found a boat that will take Jono back,” replied Jack. “Come”, he said. “What about the children here?” I asked. “I don’t want them to be captured by the slavers”.  “Don’t worry, they won’t. Just follow me”, said Jack. I felt uneasy, but did not say anything. I was too tired to think, it is too weird.

We arrived at the docks. I could just make out two figures standing by a fishing boat. I knew who they were. The two men who had captured me! As I turned around to run, Jack whipped out a knife and put it against my throat. One of the men caught Jasmine. “Jack!” yelled Jasmine, but Jack ignored her. “How could you?” I said. “Easy! I trade you for money”, Jack replied in a mocking voice. The boss stepped down from the boat. “You know too much. Now you can join all the children we are going to capture”. They all laughed nastily, including Jack.

Suddenly, there were policemen everywhere. The men yelled. Jack let go of me and ran. I kicked the man holding Jasmine and pulled her away. For a while, there was confusion everywhere. When all the men and Jack were captured by the police, we saw the old woman from the shop with Emerald watching. “At least the children are safe now and you can take that boat to go home. “Thanks for saving me” said Jasmine and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Bye Jono”, she said. Jasmine and her grandma walked away slowly. Emerald came close and looked at me with his green eyes. “Thank you Emerald.” I said, patting his head. He purred and then he followed the old woman. I turned towards the boat and started my journey home.