The Amazing Read

Entries in this What Happens Next story by Sally Rippin have now closed. Prize draws will occur on 9 February and winners of the prize packs from Kings Comics will be notified by email. Read all of the fabulous entries below!

 

One Moonless Night

One moonless night, a hundred creatures fall into the ocean. Water closes over their heads and they drift to the bottom like spinning shards of light. As their feet touch the sand, they turn towards the coastline, pale robes billowing about them like clouds. Some of them push forward full of purpose, but others, eyes wide as river pebbles, pause in wonder at the newness of everything and soon fall behind.

Cyrion is the first to reach the beach. She steps lightly onto the sand, water running off her limbs like mercury. She finds a place that pleases her then sits down to wait. As she gazes out over the inky ocean, other creatures rise out of the water and wander away in different directions along the dunes. Some of them lift again to scatter further, like dandelion spores in the wind. Cyrion trails her fingers through the sand as she waits.

Soon, a head breaks the surface of the water and Cyrion smiles and waves a cheerful greeting. Truban emerges and strides across the sand.

‘Well, Truban,’ Cyrion says. ‘You took your time.’

‘Can I help it if I’m interested in things?’ Truban says, flopping down beside her.

‘Fish! What is there to be interested about in fish? We have plenty of them back home.’

‘They might be different here,’ says Truban, shaking out his wet hair.

Cyrion winces as she is sprayed with seawater. She stands up quickly. ‘Come on,’ she says, annoyed. ‘The others are already gone.’

Cyrion sets off at a brisk pace and Truban jogs to catch up with her.

As the two trudge along the now empty beach, a faint rain begins to drift over them, cloaking the dunes in a pearly mist. They find a break in the dark wall of scrub and follow a narrow path that winds away from the beach. After a long walk through scrabbly trees, the path opens onto a sandy clearing, which leads to a smooth grey road.

Cyrion hesitates, staring up at the stars, but Truban turns confidently to the left. Cyrion skips to catch up with him.

‘What makes you think this is the way?’

‘What does it matter?’ Truban shrugs. ‘They’re everywhere, aren’t they?’

‘I guess so,’ says Cyrion, peering into the darkness.

They walk and walk until they hear a low rumbling in the distance.

Cyrion stops to listen. She grips Truban’s arm. ‘Do you think…?’

Truban nods. A thrill runs through him.

They stand very still and listen to the rumbling grow louder. In the distance, a bright arc of light swings through the blackness and lights up the silky white trunks of the ghost gums along the road. The roar grows louder. Truban and Cyrion stand transfixed in the middle of the road as a car hurtles towards them.

Complete this story here

 

Your endings…

Crash! the car flew into a tree as they had dodged the car as soon as it was spotted.”Whoa! That was close!” said Truban, as they hopped over a log.”You can say that again” says Cyrion nearly tripping over. ”whoa that was-” ”you didn’t REALLY have to say that!” said Cyrion. Then they trotted away angrily, heading home.

Bridgett, 10, 2650

 

Cyrion lifted up both hands and took a deep breath focussing the last of her energy towards the car travelling towards them. Very quietly Cyrion said “Hit”.
The impact force was so strong it sent the car feet into the air until it hit the road again with a loud BOOM! All was quiet, all that could be heard were the bats flying above them. Slowly Truban walked towards the car but just as he reached the bonnet when he heard a “Pop” and then another one. Truban turned around just in time to see the driver covered in blood sprinting away with an unconscious Cyrion in his arms. Truban sprinted after the man hoping he could catch up with the man. With the last of his energy he ran like he had never run before. All possibilities were running through his head, what would happen to Cyrion, would this strange looking man perform tests on her before she died of exhaustion? With all this thinking Truban was doing he had forgotten what he was doing. He looked up a saw the man turn the corner a couple of metres away. Truban could just see Cyrion opening her eyes again, looking confused. Truban had just turned the corner when he came to a halt. The street had been a dead end and standing in front of him was the man holding the awake Cyrion tightly on the ground. “Let her go” Turban said darkley.
The Driver pulled out a knife and held it Cyrion’s tiny throat. “I wont let her go” the man exclaimed.
That was all Truban could take, he held up both hands like Cyrion had before held them against the wall and spoke “Portal”.
Immediately an arch appeared with a blue swirling substance inside it. He turned to face the man again who had lowered the dagger and was looking at the wall in amazement. Truban quickly took Cyrion’s hand and pulled her close. The man was still staring at the archway. So without another world Cyrion and Truban slipped through the portal which closed behind them. They were standing in a deserted alleyway. Cyrion was the first to talk. “The man he sensed my magic he wanted me to give him power and might, everything he desired”.
Truban gave her a hug, “It’s okay now,” he said calmly “we’re safe”.
And with that they both started looking for the others.

Katharina, 13, 4285

 

The children ducked down behind two rough berry bushes and waited for the uncontrollable car to swerve away. When the coast was clear they went back to their feet, and continued tip-toeing, now more alert. That car was dangerous and Cyrion couldn’t stop thinking that driver in the car, he looked so familiar . . . “Hey Truban, did you see the person who was driving that car?” she asked her brother. “Probably someone who needs a diving licence,” replied Truban. She looked at her brother, maybe he wasn’t a good person to talk to about these things.

They continued sneeking past every moving object, ducking down from things that came too close. Suddenly, Truban stopped in his tracks and Cyrion thudded behind him. “Oy, why’d u stop?” glared Cyrion,rubbing her nose. “Umm Cyrion, does this street look familiar to you. Cyrion stopped complaining with a shock and looked around and from what she can see, one thing was true, they were lost.

This was the last time Cyrion let her brother navigate. “I can’t believe you got us lost! How could you do that, especially when we know exactly where to go? How could you not know the way home? We’ve been to that beach so many times!!!” “I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, I was nervous and it’s pitch black,” whimpered Truban. Cyrion stopped screaming. He was right, he usually doesn’t look around when he gets nervous and it ‘s dark, midnight from what Cyrion’s watch told her. The siblings tried not to panick and sat down on the path. Not a single sound was to be heard except the occasional squeak of a mouse or rat. Truban was jumping from every squeak he heard and Cyrion was trying to think of a plan. Then she got it, her mobile phone. She quickly fetched around her pocket and pulled out her phone. But stared in horror as the screen wouldn’t start up. Truban saw what she had in her hand, “Oh thankgod, we are saved!” but then saw the look of anger in Cyrion’s face as she excalmed, “The battery’s run out! why now?” she chucked her phone back in her pocket and continued thinking of a plan. Truban staring at this, realised they might have to sleep on the path tonight and started whimpering in fright again. He took out his torch and shone it on everything that he thought moved. Cyrion moved her head to see where the sudden line of brightness came from and saw the torch. “You had a torch all this time and you didn’t tell me!?!” half questioned and half yelled. ” We could find out which street we’re on so we can find ours. It won’t be that far away.” And with that Truban gave the torch in relief of going home and Cyrion shone it all around her until she found a sign. It said Federick Street.

Cyrion dropped the torch. “Hey, watch it, I got that torch from grandpa.” Cyrion slowly turned around and gave a death stare to her brother. “We are in our own street!! I looked at the sign and it said “Federick street” which means we have been in our own street for the past 1 hour!!” Her brother picked up the torch and saw this. “But you gotta admit, the street does look different at night. And besides you looked around and thought we were in a different street too. But leave that, if this is our street then it means our house is close by.” Cyrion looked at her watch, 1:30pm. She would scream at him tomorrow, but right now she is starting to get sleepy and hungry. They walked around shining the torch at all the houses until they got to theirs. They both were so happy that they ran towards the door and knocked as hard as they could. The door opened so quickly that the children were startled. Mum was standing at the front with a drenched face (like she was crying) and hugged her kids “Where have you been!?”.

Well, everyone is sitting at the dining table eating roast beef, while the children told their amazing story. It turns out, dad was the driver in the uncontrollable car and he came to pick them up, but was starled by a cat he had to swerve missing the kids’ stop. The kids were happy they were home and right after dinner, they jumped in their beds and fel fast asleep, without even taking their shoes off.

Aysha, 12, 2287

 

Cyrion jumps to the side of the road and hides behind a bush. But Truban was too late! The humans captured him and took him to Area 51.
Cyrion gets out of the bush and runs in hot pursuit, after the car.By the time Cyrion got to Area 51, the humans had already put Truban in a blood sampler. Cyrion was hiding behind a crate, and saw the whole scene. As the needle got closer to Truban, he started whimpering. As it got closer and closer, Truban started whimpering even more loudly until…..AAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The reading on the scene of the blood sampler said:NAME:TRUBAN, SPECIES:WOLTAN.
As Cyrion hid behind the crate,she knew she needed to do something. She went into a state of trance, calling other Woltans to her cause. 2 hours later, other Woltans, including tribe leader Wantorl, and they also bought their weapons. All the Woltans rushed to the blood sampler, smashed the glass, and rushed outside with Truban. The humans just stared with shock. “Be more careful next time, Truban” said Watorl. “Yes, Wantorl!”said Truban.

Joshua, 10, 4722

 

“Hey!” cried Truban as the vehicle did not slow down. Then an unexpected action occurred when Cyrion turned and ran away leaving Truban to be hit by the vehicle! “You Moron, you traitor!!” yelled Truban as he was slowly and painfully killed by the large extra-terrestrial object. Cyrion came out of the woods and observed the mangled body of Truban. She only felt slight remorse for him as she knew it had to happen sooner or later. Cyrion stared into the distance and listened to the roar of the car slowly fading away. She wished it had slowed down to save her walking. Cyrion picked up Truban and dumped him in a nearby swamp where he will soon be found. Cyrion never imagined herself to be a cold hard killer, but things change and so do people. Cyrion thought to herslef, “Its time, Now is the time!”. Then she put her hand to the back of her head and pulled away the skin to reveal… she was a human. Her thought carried her away as the end of this tale fades to its ending …..

Aidan-Ashley, 13, 4814

 

‘Come’ said Cyrion, as the car passed silently over them as though they were ghosts.They walked silently as the rumbling became louder then softer as they realised that the rumbling was not a car but the whole reason they had risen from the depths. The rumbling grew louder as they neared the source of its power. ‘Thunder’ said Truban,’and lightning.’ ‘Yes, you told me tales of it when I was young,’ said Cyrion. Suddenly a ball of light lit up the sky then vanished.They stopped walking, a pale face turned to them, ‘This is where they have gone’ a voice said, then a long, bony finger pointed to a pond in the ground, suddenly almost 500 black, grossly disformed creatures rose from the hole and vanished into thin air. Cyrion and Truban slowly slid into the pond and felt their long legs melt together. They flicked their tails once and sped down into the blackness. Some of the disformed figures screamed and swam away as the mermaids swam to find light. They rose into a small cave inhabited by blue sea roses. Cyrion picked one and rose to the surface of the pond, Truban rose a few seconds afterward. One of the elders picked them up and threw them into the sky like stars. Their powers enabled them to glide through space to their destination. Truban took the blue rose from his sister’s hand and settled himself on the lifeless, pale silver and blue moon. The light made by it was so dim that it was unable to clothe the earth that night. Truban carefully sqeezed a mercury coloured drop of liquid from the rose onto the moon. As if by magic the silver liquid started speading, healing the scars of which the deathly lightning made. Slowly the moon became brighter and took revenge on the lightning, banishing it to the very depths of the galaxy. The earth was alive once more. A wailing noise which could only be heard by mermaids echoed up from the ocean! and the y knew it was time to return.

***********
As the soft sand ran through their toes they slid un-noticed into the ocean. As they swam into the mist the moon rose slowly into the sky.

Jacinta, 12, 4871

 

Truban shoves Cyrion aside and lifts his head to the glowing night sky. He opens his mouth wide and takes a big breath. He exhales and shrieked a woeful sound. Suddenly there came a flapping in the cool air. The hideous noise Truban had made was the sound of danger. And the sound all Woltans like Truban and Cyrion made when they were in need of help. The car screeched to a halt centimetres away from Truban and the driver ran from his car in a daze from the sudden appearance of the Woltans. Cyrion ran to Truban and embraced him. ” You saved me,” Cyrion told Truban. ” You are worth saving,” admitted Truban, ” And besides you would have done the same for me.” Pointed out Truban. Wantorl the leader of this Woltan tribe announced ” well done Truban you are a true hero.” And Truban was then awarded the medal of bravery (that might I mention was very rarely awarded to a Woltan) and went on to become a famous creature and husband to Cyrion.

Joy, 12

 

Finally, Cyrion snaps out of the paralyzing daze that had held her captive and springs off the road, agile as a gazelle. She lightly runs to the thick undergrowth on the side of the wall and burrows inside. She’s halfway across the sandy clearing before she realizes that Truban isn’t with her. In a blind panic, Cyrion crashes back through the trees and undergrowth, imagining Truban hiding on the other side of the road, waiting until it’s entirely safe to cross again.

But when she reaches the road again, she sees the fate that Isaenil has created for him. Truban lies in a mangled mess on the ground, silver blood spilling from the deep cuts on his body. It’s too much. Cyrion collapses on the ground, weeping for the one whom she had cared for. Her little brother. Dead. There was no way life would ever be the same again.

When the worst of her outbreak has passed, she slowly drags herself to her feet, gazing at the distorted figure of her youngest sibling. She moves over to Truban with a silent grace, and looks into his deep, grey eyes for the last time.

With a final tear, Cyrion bends over and closes Truban’s eyes, and he was gone. Cyrion turns to leave the road, but knows she cannot leave Truban here, for more cars to carelessly drive over. She glides back to Truban and carefully lifts him up in her arms, careful not to disturb his eternal sleep, and carries him with her to the beach.

*****

Cyrion carefully lies Truban down in the depression she has created for him. This would become his final resting place, the rock pool beneath the trees. She stands and watches his sleep for a while, and then, as another wave of emotion threatens to overcome her, she walks away, stopping only to seal the grave’s force-field. Away from her baby brother.

Annabel, 13, 4680

 

Truban and Cyrion make a dash for safety but alas they were not fast enough. The strange humanoid creatures inside the offending car swerved to avoid them and crashed head on into one of the many scarred and torn trees that loomed across the paths. As the noise died down, Truban and Cyrion crept warily towards the crached vehicle and peered uncertainly inside and saw the broken and bruised figures that had taken over their land and hunted them down until they were almost all gone. They were named Humans.
Truban and Cyrion felt terrible that the Humans had had to die. As Cyrion began to weep, silver tears made their ways down the sides of her face and a sweet sound like a sad flute melody chimed through the air. Truban carefully opened the car door and the bodies of their enemies tumbled out. Horrified at the sight they resolved to bury them and so took them back through the small gap in the scrub and buried them deep beneath the sand. When the deed was done, all the creatures that had fallen from the sky returned and sank once more beneath the waves as Truban and Cyrion sat atop the dunes and silently bid them farewell…..

Nikki, 12, 2485