Stories on this page

1. The Little Door

2. The Monster From The Deep

3. The Robot

4. After The Shipwreck

5. Quarrels And Quibbles

6. Flying

7. An Alien Appearance

The Monster From The Deep

I felt the ground begin to shake under my feet. The smell of ash and smoke now filled the air. I saw the dull crust rise before me to form an enraged giant of molten lava spewed from an enclosure that it had once resided in. It seemed we were un-welcomed visitors trying to trespass. The sound of thunderous strikes on the shaken ground rang through my beaten ears. The furious and fiery fists hurtling towards people, flinging them back. People around me screamed and I heard a man say “run for your lives!” as he flew into the distance. I felt the blistering heat wither me down; I hastened my speed to outrun the pursuer. Many people around me fell to their unfortunate and gruesome deaths, but there was nothing I could do. Not yet.  

Soon, I made it to the emergency shelter that loomed over the battlefield. My feet and back were worn out and desperately needed a rest. In the distance, through the mist, I spotted that the beast was retreating and its malicious smile had turned upside-down and froze facing me. All of a sudden, there was silence, no KABOOM! nor ZAP! but just a small wince of a possible future pain. The clamour in the claustrophobic room resumed but my terror had now been reduced. Instead, I stayed glued to the window of which I was peering out of and a thought rushed through my mind; maybe fighting this beast would not be a piece of cake, and it might come back for seconds (of lunch, that is, at this time of day). A taste of dryness rolled through my mouth. Nonetheless, I was now battle ready! 

The Robot

One summer’s day an old mechanic was in his workshop. He had been working on something for days and no one had seen him even venture outside. “Oh, my Masterpiece!” shouted the mechanic with glee. “It is finished!” However, as the mechanic left the room and pranced down his rickety staircase, the newly created robot jerked. Slowly, its mischievous, blood-shot eyes opened. It seemed to grin. The thing stretched its stiff arms and flung itself off the table and off it went…

Later that day, the mechanic came back home to find his beauty missing! He felt depressed and useless. He could taste the anger rising inside himself. Meanwhile, the robot had caused great chaos and had lit a house on fire. Subsequently, it trotted back to the workshop. The clock inside him was like a heart beating with evil excitement. On arriving, it saw the mechanic in panic, pacing in frustration. The robot lay on the gravel-like ground and switched itself off, pretending. Spotting his beauty, the mechanic ran towards it, but then he heard the screams from outside. The mechanic went to see what the fuss was.  A house was on fire! The mechanic, learning what had happened, ran back home in distress and threw the machine back on this table and left to get a hammer to destroy it. The robot however had already tasted blood and evil arose within it: It turned its clock back on.

On hearing the ticking beat, the mechanic sprinted back into the workshop to turn his masterpiece off for good, but to no avail; the clock kept turning. The thunderous breaths of the robot startled the mechanic as he stood in the corner of the room petrified, turning stone cold. He smelt and saw the coal fire flash on. He knew what was about to happen for a second time. The mechanical beast slanted his devilish head towards his maker. Could this be the end? Destroyed by his own creation?

After The Shipwreck

The sun shone gallantly on our miserable faces, causing us to stir. When we all woke from our dormitory state, I smelt the air. It was definitely not home. My poor eyes adjusted to the strange surroundings as a melodic trill rang through my ears. We, the specialist forces, had been sent on an implausible mission to reduce our dreadful mortality rates in this ongoing battle. Only the finest warriors went on this adventure (apart from one great fighter, who had hydrophobia) but trouble soon found us and we found ourselves shipwrecked. 

We decided to set off from the rocks in order to explore. After a while of concavings and convexings in between treacherous obstacles, I started to take note of the flourishing strange life on the island. All of a sudden, a crack appeared from the vast and vile land on our left. We strolled even more carefully onwards, but soon another problem arose: I tasted dryness in my parched mouth; I craved a wholesome meal and drink and knew time was soon up. Then suddenly, I spotted the beach; we had reached the other side! Here, the sand was soft as a sheep’s wool. “Ahh,” I cried out. This was it, and sure enough there was a ship in the mist. 

An excited smile grew across our faces as the life saviour drew nearer. I felt a solitary tear drop down my solemn cheek. Back at home, everyone said that being saved from a deserted island only happens when pigs fly. Disastrously, I then saw the boat move in a deliberate sneer at me and it soon faded as it turned away into the fog. Maybe they were right, one is hopelessly forlorn when shipwrecked. Would we live to prove them wrong?

Quarrels And Quibbles

There is a quaint shop at the end of Borough Market called Quarrels And Quibbles. It has sat there alone for ages. I seldom even notice it! One day, I decided to take a look, however to my dismay, it seemed empty. Without much thought, I opened the door to the shop. Out of the blue, an old man with a mis-shaped smile shook my hand. I could feel his firm grip draw me into where all of his items were hidden. The store was dilapidated with only a little window stuck in the corner trying to bring some light to this mystery. I could now see the store filled to the brim of antiques from South America to the edge of China. The man looked hopeful that I would purchase one of his finds. As a collector, I was immediately glued to the chinas. In the corner of my eye, I spotted a china globe. I walked up to it to look. We started to quibble about the authenticity of this item with the shopkeeper claiming it was from the Ming Dynasty. I touched it and it zapped my finger and left a mark on the globe! The man said in his cracked voice “Oh no, no touch, no touch, it's real alright and now you have to buy it.”

After re-thinking my actions, I shouldn’t have bought that globe. The man now had a mischievous grin imprinted on his face as he carefully counted my money with rapacity. As I left, I heard a brief chuckle arise from within the door which remained ajar. I tried to shake the memory from my mind but I could still smell the dusty air from the store room in my nostrils, constantly reminding me. The globe had a label on it that said ‘do not peel off’ (in bold text). Being as curious as a cat, I did just what I should not have. A petite itch started to irritate the wrist of my right hand (which had peeled the label off). The itch turned to a sting. Suddenly: My arms, my finger, my head and my legs exploded with pain. With a loud cry of terror, I was flung forwards into a wormhole. 

I was horrified! I could taste the pain climbing out of my poor mouth but all of a sudden, it yielded. I found myself in a world unknown to me. That savage beast of a shopkeeper sent me here for daring to argue with him! The new world that I now had arrived in was the age of the Great Wall of China, the time of the globe. I always wondered why the shop was called Quarrels And Quibbles, but now I know. Oh, what was I to do?

Flying

It was a peaceful day, the sun hugged me from afar, stretching its crimson arms towards me. However, this morning, I had felt a tingling sensation across my back, and now, in the sun’s warmth, it grew within me. All of sudden two things, twisted and gnarled, poked out of my frail back, one on each side. I heard a snap and crackle as bones connected and slithered under my arm, but then the pain ceded. I touched what were feathery yet strong wings that now drooped from my back.

After I explored these newly found delights, I decided to try and fly. Effortlessly, I soared into the sky, the roseate sun peered at me to say a last melancholic goodbye as it set. I swam through the lucid aid as if I were a stork elegantly gliding through the sky. I dashed and swivelled round mountains and tree tops. I pranced through clouds cleaner than quartz. In the distance I saw a second moon. Had I flown too far? Was this a fantasy? I came back to reality all of sudden: I saw, smelt, felt, heard and tasted fear as I fell through the sky. My heart skipped several beats as I screamed “HELP!” at the top of my voice. Mastering this skill of flying wouldn’t be a piece of cake after all and maybe I should just stick to normal daydreaming. 

An Alien Appearance

It was a beautiful and bucolic day when I encountered the oddest thing I have ever come across. I found myself in my parents' prosperous palace, pacing around the hallways. Outside I could see the elegant trees swaying and dancing in the wispy wind.  I smelt the fresh air through my window, it was calming. But maybe too calming…I felt the boredom climb up my arms. That day I had been feeling a bit under the weather, but it was nothing to worry about. All of a sudden, I heard an abrupt CRASH! From the nearby park. Being nonchalant, I went to check. It seemed to be a spacecraft; out of its trunk and the mist that started to form, came two strange creatures : They had lime-green faces; stubbed snouts, like of a pig and radiant antennae that poked out of their foreheads.

As I walked up to them, completely submerged in questions, I blurted out, “H-Hello?”. With an abrasive voice one of the taller ( around the size of an adult ) replied, “Errr… Where is we, like w-what space rock?”.  I responded, “ Earth, planet Earth,”. One of the aliens was staring at my handkerchief  in wonder, his eyes as beaming as a Cyclops’. They looked around the uncharted territory. An Alien Invasion would be a welcome distraction from this ‘Annus Horribilis’ of an ISEB year (ISEB is my school exam for those uninitiated of you). Suddenly a bulbous tentacle wrapped around my face , I felt dizzy as I fainted in astonishment. Later that day, I woke up in a strange new world, but that is a story for another time. At least I won’t have to sit my ISEB!