Day one: Dumping ducklings

"Get up!!"

The shrill call of Malissa woke me as I snuggled deeper into my raincoat. I was dimly aware of children pouring off the bus and Malissa sighing and going to talk to a girl with shortish brown hair - and then Vanessa was shaking me. "Ellen!" she said, "Getup! We are there!"

I yawned and sat up. My eyes felt swollen and I was still sleepy. Then, I was shook to my senses. We were going on the field-trip to Mt. Kakepuku! I smiled to myself, pulled on my back-pack and moved off the bus.

Mr Woody was smiling and laughing as we began our trudge on a dirt path through farms. Cows mooed and sheep's BAAAAHED at us as we skipped and mooched and ran.

Soon Mr Woody stopped at the base of the small mountain. We could all see beautiful native trees smothering the mountain side. "Looks like it's going to rain," Mr Woody said brightly as we all moaned, "Let's pull on our rain-coats and walk up our Mountain!" Everyone else pulled their raincoats out of their bags but I was already wearing mine. It was called a poncho, and was a make-shift rain-coat/sleeping bag. I loved it dearly, and it was in a stinging shade of magenta. I wriggled into it, and once everyone was softly warm and dry, we began our small climb up the mountain.

We walked...

And walked...

And walked...

and were soon near the top of the mountain. We were puffing a little, but laughing and smiling, marvelling at the beautiful view and looking disgusted at the bugs crawling across the forest floor. Mr Woody, who was smiling and laughing with us, was suddenly sullen and quiet. "What?" Jayden asked. He didn't say anything. He didn't point. He just fell to the floor. I looked around and screamed.

"A TWISTER!" Vanessa squealed. We ran as fast as we could down the mountain, four of us supporting the unconscious Mr Woody. The tornado was zooming towards the mountain, supporting litres of water. As it gushed over the tip of Mt Kakepuku, water sloshed from it. After a few seconds, where we all stood motionless, a mud slide crashed down the mountain. We all screamed and ran. We were at the steepest part of the path and were very scared. The mud careered into us, sending us flying, being dumped by the mud or just being face-planted. I was rolling around, under the mud, not breathing. Vanessa was next to me, rolling too, and we both gripped my bag as it fell from my back. We surfaced, gasped thankfully and were pulled under again. The mud hit a very thick tree and we were thrown forwards, up the mountain top. We crashed into a tree, and fell to the ground groaning. I moaned and fell asleep. When I woke it was just about sun-set. Vanessa was next to me, asleep still. I arranged a leaf pile for her and heaved her upon it. I wanted to start making one for me, but I was in so much pain. I had bruises everywhere and Vanessa was covered in mud, so it was impossible to see if her was hurt. I felt around, because it was rather dark. The sun had set and only a pink line was set on the horizon. I felt my bag, and closed my eyes. They were twitching with the pain I was enduring. I lay down, and snuggled under my poncho. Just as Vanessa groaned and sat up in her pile of leaves, I fell into a deep, pain-filled sleep. 

Day two: Killer hunter

My head felt groggy, my eyes were still heavy and my legs hurt like hell. "God," I said softly, "this hurts!"
Then, I heard movement around me. I wrapped my poncho close and said timidly "Who's there?"
"Vanessa!" someone hissed. I opened my eyes. A trickle of light had reached the earth and I could just see Vanessa's slim body arranging a pile of what sounded like leaves.
"Vanessa?" I said groggily.
"Yes?" she asnwered.
"What happened?"
Well," she said, and then stopped breathing. "WHAT?" I whispered but she put her cold hand over my mouth. A soft rustle and a hoot let her breathe again - she was just as scared of anything moving as I was.
I realized I was lying on a pile of dead leaves. I sat up and they crunched loudly. "Ellen!" she hissed, "You can sit?"
"Why?" I whispered back, "Did you think I was paralyzed or something?"
"Yes," she said, "When you fell down that slope with me, you pulled your leg mucles and back."
I got to my feet, wincing as pain over-took me.
"Ouch. Ok, where to now?"
The sun was peeking over the horizon, making the mountain blush a lovely shade of magenta. Vanessa's face was caught full in the light and I saw how well she had looked after me and my aches. I also saw she was limping, and her face was gaunt and she looked anorexic. She gasped when she looked at me.
"Your face!"
"WHAT?"
"It's so pale."
As she moved I saw twig scratches and gashes all over her poor tired body. He pants were ripped and her T-shirt was cracked with mud.
I examined myself. No scratches, just lots of mud and a few brusies here and there.
"You've been in the wars," I observed.
"Yeah," she said, sighing, and feeling the gash on her thigh. "Got a plaster?"
"Here," I said, scrambling around, and I found my pack-pack. It crackled. Lifting it gingerly I found it was just very muddy. I found my first-aid kit and found her bleeding gash on her ankle. That explained why her school hat was so red, not maroon.
I set to work, bandaging and pastering Vanessa untill she was the walking first-aid box. All I had left was a splint and three bandages. "These might come in handy." I said, and put it back into my bag.
Then, I heard a horrible gunshot and a roar of laughter. The sun was fully in the sky, and it was probably mid-day.
"Little fan-tail, no hiding from Uncle Mac, no, a delicacy in England I should think!"
Then, slowly but surely, a little Fantail edged out of it's hiding place and flew around us. It made no sound. Vanessa held out her hands and it hopped into the cup. She cooed at it, and slipped it into my bag, and straighted up just as the hunter flew into the clearing.
He had wild red hair, blue eyes like saucers, but he wasn't crazy. Oh no, he simply had been in the forest much too long. "Have you seen a pretty little bird?" he asked us in his english accent, "I want to have him for supper!" "Get away!" I screamed, "Don't! Don't! I heard you, vile, foul egit!" His smile soured to a scowl. He pointed his gun, first to me, and then Vanessa. He slowly pulled the trigger...









If you want to keep reading, go on!






and I knocked her to the ground just as the bullet shot through the air.
I whacked the man in the crutch, and as he doubled over, I knocked his in the head. He dropped the gun and I smacked his head with it. His eyes rolled up into his head and he fell down to the ground.
Vanessa tried to get to her feet, but it was obviously broken. I straighted her leg best I could after I dragged the hunter to a far-away clump to bushes, and set it with the splint and bandaged it with the left-over bandages. I let the fantail free and it chirped a happy song before departing.
"I'm sorry I used your whole first aid kit up," Vanessa sniffed, trying to wipe the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. She had howled her way to misery-moo while I was being doctor for a day.
"Come on," I said, "Let's go and try to find the track. I'll go this way and you go that way. Meet here in twenty minutes."
We went our seperate ways and I walked and walked. My legs were sore and my head was pulsing. I decided to have a little rest. I pulled my pink poncho from my bag and pulled it over me. The sky was blood red as I lay down. I closed my eyes and was dragged into darkness.

Day three: crazed images

Yawning, I opened my eyes. The poncho was very warm, and as soon as I snuggled up into it's pinky depths, I heard someone shout "HELP!"

I sat up. It sounded like Zahary!

"HELP!" they shouted again, this time louder, with the feeling of fear.

"WHAT???" I shouted bac, standing up. Zahary's voice was now calling "MALISSA?"

"NO!" I yelled, "ELLEN!"

"ELLEN!" he shouted. I heard more panic.

"WHAT?" I asked him loudly, but I heard a rumble and a crash. Soon the beautiful greenery on Kakepuku's slope was dissapearing under a ton or so of mud. I closed my eyes and opened them. The mud was still charging ahead. I gritted my teeth. A mide-slide might just be good enough to body-surf on. I scarmbled with my bag, and zipped it up and put it on just before the mud began to creep up on me. I took a deep breath and dived!

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to keep reading Ellen's diary, go on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I felt myself being lifted up into the air, My eyes were wide with amazment. It worked! I looked behind for Zahary and saw a little hand in the mud that vanished again. Then, it popped back up, about a foot from where I was. I grabbed it and pulled. The grip was limp and I had to heave at it without un-balancing. Soon I had heaved an unconcious Man covered in Mud. He didn't look like one of the people on the Marae who tried to spear me. No, it was my Dad! I gasped so hard that we un-balanced. I screamed, woke Dad and we tumbled down into the mud.

I felt so sore as I plummeted through the layers, mud thickly encasing me. All the muscles I had pulled and tug at were screaming for comfort. I hit the ground with an almighty crash, and I heard my fathers WHUMPH as well. I lifted my head and saw I was three inches deep in mud, while Dad was standing up and battling his was across the thick red sludge. He picked me up with both his hands and I sobbed un-controlably into his muddy shirt. "Gosh1" he said, "You will make me more muddier!" but it wasn't a joke. We were still stuck in the middle of the wilderness.

 

*

 

"Maybe it's this track!" dad said brightly, as he walked down a small clearing. "We've been looking for an hour!" I said. Tears were falling thick and fast down my cheeks, but that wasnothing new. My arm was broken so badly it was bleeding, and you could see the bone if you looked at it. So I didn't. My make-shift sling was blood-red but I didn't care.

"Look Dad!" I said wearily, "The sun is setting!"

"@*^& it is too," he said, "Ah well, put on your poncho, we'll sleep soundly tonight and resume our search in the morning."

I rolled my eyes, but saw a little moving figure searching Mt. Kakepuku!

"DAD!" I screamed, he looked up and saw the helicpoter too. Together we waved our arms frantically (or one arm for me, I should say) and the helicopter landed in a little clearing near where we were.

"Let's go!" Dad said excitedly. I did nothing. My eyes rolled into my head and I landed with a thud on the floor, engulfed by black.

Day four: The ending of the start.

My eyes ached. I woke. There were bleak walls, and dainty cards strewn around a little table on my bedside. The hospital was pretty dull. My Mum was standing over me, tears sliding silently down her cheeks as she grasped my cold hand.
"WHAT?" I said, amazed. Mum never cried.
"You're alive."

This story was written by the best author ever. Please, fire-works clap!
Paki-paki whoooo!