Chapter 9 coming soon...

8

JAKE OPENED his eyes to see a room, the room he knew so well: four plain white walls, except for a crooked painting of one of the Boss' old colleagues, on his left. Small wooden doors were situated regularly around the room. A huge circular rug covered all of the floor, except the corners. A table sat in one of them, and a glass coffee table rested in the center of the mat, with someone pacing around it. Someone...Boss! He watched the Boss came round in a circle, then realized Jake was up.
          "Aha, you're awake... Jake." Jake coughed a smile. His Boss looked at him with narrowed eyes. He was not the sort of person that you smile at.
          Just then, Jake realised he was sitting on a wooden chair, in the corner opposite the one with the table in it.
          Boss paused, then stared at him. "So, you have it?"
          "What?" Jake said, even though he knew, of course. He would leave it until the last moment to tell him.
"You mean..." he said softly, "...YOU HAVEN'T GOT IT?" The Boss said, his face twisting with rage. He was now rushing at Jake, his huge, hairy hands outstretched, ready to break the neck of Jake. Jake wrenched the green crystal out of his pocket and held it up, squeaking, "alright, I have."
          Mr Sweetman screeched to a halt when he saw the crystal. "Aha. Right, there's the money I promised you, on that table. Jake now saw the table had a wad of cash on top of it. Now, off you go. Jake slowly got up, grabbed the cash, and walked out of one of the wooden doors. Sweetman checked that Jake had gone, then walked over to another wooden door, and opened it - his office. Scrunched up papers lied everywhere, and plans were pinned everywhere on the walls of the small, messy, cluttered room.
          "I must clean this place up," Mr Sweetman mumbled, but he knew he never would any time soon. He heaved himself into his office chair and plonked the crystal down on his messy desk, next to his computer. He pressed the 'power' button on it, then stared at the crystal intently. Finally, he got up, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Now, let's try and figure out... the crystal's secret."

7

NATHAN'S FRIEND, Derek, came in, looking completely out of breath.

          "Wh - hap - when -" Derek managed to string his words together, "ar - are you all okay? I mean, I saw the ambulance and I - I thought you -"
          "Yes, we're fine, thanks" said Elizabeth.
          "You don't sound - you don't look fine,"Derek said, staring round at them, "are - are -," Derek stuttered, then collapsed onto a chair. "I saw the ambulance go past my house. I watched it fade away into the distance, but then I saw it turn into your drive. I ran out of my house and ran all the way over to yours, and here I am now! I thought someone had been hurt or something, and-"
          "I will tell you what happened," said Nathan, standing up.
          Elizabeth smiled weakly. And then Nathan started his story, about the policeman and everything else, in great detail. When he had finished, Derek thought for a while, then said,"Oh, well, that's sad the crystal's, like, gone. It was a very cool crystal. And a very interesting story. But why is this so sad? Like I said, an awesome crystal, but-" Derek trailed off, realizing he was just saying the same thing again.
          Nathan looked at his mum for support. She nodded at him. "Are you sure?" Nathan mouthed.
          Again, Elizabeth nodded. Nathan brightened a bit. Nathan's mum knew he loved telling this story, even though he had only told it twice.
          "That crystal is no ordinary crystal", Nathan said, shaking his head and looking at Derek, who was sitting facing him over the table. "It is important, very very important that it doesn't get stolen."
          His mum nodded at him one last time, then he took a deep breath and started the story of the crystal's secret.

click here for chapter 8

6

NATHAN FROZE. He collapsed onto his bed and lay there for half an hour. 

Elizabeth was worried. Very worried. Her mind was clogged with thoughts, unlike Nathan. They were streaming through her constantly. How could any robber manage to know the crystal's secret? Only very close friends and family have known this! Now it will be in the papers everywhere. People would be swarming round her house - people coming from near and far just to see this amazing - plan. And now - Nathan, oh, my poor son! How he can deal with this I don't know. What would life be like now? Oh boy oh boy... she went to lie on her bed as well. 

Nathan rubbed his eyes. He could think now. So... the plan was gone, along with the crystal. There is a severely harmed policeman in a police car beside the driveway. The robber - assuming that is what happened, was probably long gone by now, and must have been involved with the policeman. He shakily got up and went into his mum's room. Then he uttered about the policeman and how he and Harriet had found him. His mum immediately ran outside and shortly rushed inside again. She grabbed the First Aid and the phone on the way. Nathan heard a faint 111 call outside and sat down on a chair.
           Elizabeth came back inside five minutes later and said to Nathan, "The ambulance is on its way. I am now going to ring up John and tell him what has happened ."
           Just then, Nathan heard the sirens. An ambulance turned into the drive and three men dressed in white, with medical gloves and a mask, jumped out. They immediately walked over to the police car. Soon they appeared again, emerging with the policeman on a stretcher. Then they retreated back into the emergency vehicle. Nathan saw his mum looking through the window. He went back inside and his mum informed him,"John is stopping work right away. He says we should have a family meeting, when he gets back here. I think I'm going to go to the police station now, and get some information. I'll report this, too. Is that okay by you?"
          Nathan was about to say 'yes' when one of the people in white came inside and informed, "He is getting better, He'll live. He has brain problems, will need some surgery, but he's okay. Everything is under control."
          Hearing this, everyone in the house breathed a sigh of relief. Then, just when Elizabeth was picking up the phone, the door once again opened.

click here for chapter 7

5

JAKE STOOD IN the bright moonlight once again, wondering whether to go back into that smelly bog - he didn't want to. The road would be dangerous though, he might be seen... 
          That was when the light washed over him. 
          Jake looked around in panic to see flashing red and blue lights mounted on top of a police car. The car crunched to a stop. He cursed. A door opened, and a foot peeked out. One word formed in his mind: RUN! He ran. As he reached the easily see-able marsh, he took a deep breath and jumped in. The cold slapped him as he permeated the water.
          The policeman shouted into the radio, "I found him, Micheal!"
          "Do you have him?" Micheal didn't want this to happen again.
          "No. Damn! I've lost him."
          "Be careful. Can you see Johnathan?"
          "Er... No. Aha!"

          Oblivious to the conversation, Jake's lungs compressed. His mouth was burning. Just as he was about to black out, he rose to the surface and took four rasping breaths. That was when he got temporarily blinded by a strong torch.

         Jake struggled further into the swamp, not bothering to look behind. The now familiar reeds brushed past him as he made his way further into it. His head turned to the left slightly, and he saw a car. There was still someone chasing him, too. It was an ambush. He felt light-headed, he had held his breath all that time for nothing. He felt like he was swimming in jelly. Then, suddenly, his feet hit hard ground. Struggling not to dive into unconsciousness, he worked his legs further into the lit-up forest. No use in stealth now. He saw the blurry image of a man on his left, and could feel and hear another man right behind him.
          "Surrender now," the hazy policeman on the left said, "and you will not be harmed."
          Jake's eyesight was not working very well at all now, and he could feel his legs going to jelly. Maybe... sorry, Mr Sweetman, but I will never get out of this one, he thought. He half collapsed. Then his eyes focused for a moment, and he saw the 'copter, twenty metres in front of him. His legs suddenly put on a burst of speed, and in no time he was up and in to the chopper. Then his legs collapsed below him, and he fell onto one of the hard, springy beds.
          Then everything went black.

click here for chapter 6

4

MICHEAL LIFTED his foot off the accelerator and looked again into the dark forest in between houses 488 and 486. He had been sure he'd seen a light. Sighing, he pressed his foot down once again and barked into the radio,"Remember, If you see or catch him, radio it through. Then question him - or them. We need to work out who is behind this business. Now, to your stations." There was a pause as he thought. "Johnathan, you take 488. I have a suspicion..."

          With nothing forthcoming, the voice came through,"Affirmative."

          "Bill, park next to 490." A 'yes, sir.' was heard.

          He organized, "Allan and Paul, take 484 and 486. He may come through that way too." He heard two 'yes's and smiled. With these places covered, we can hopefully get - whoever it is...

          Five minutes later, another voice was heard.

          "Micheal, I can hear a strange humming sound. It sounds like it's in the forest."

          "Are you sure it's not from the house - a fridge, maybe?" Micheal asked.

          "No, it's a lot louder - here..." There was a loud scraping, then he heard a weird whirring sound. 

          "Well, I've heard it, and I agree, go and find what's happening." Then he added, "and fast."
          A few seconds later, someone else spoke. "Sir, I've found him - it's Johnathan, by the way, I've found him at 488! He's just coming through that marsh we saw before. Wait, I'm going out to give him a 'surprise.'
          Micheal smiled. He knew what Johnathan's 'surprises' were like. He sank back into his chair and shouted into the walkie-talkie, "We have found one. We do not know if there are more, but I doubt it. Keep on the lookout though, and Bill, you go help our John. We'll sort this one out!'
          Bill answered, "I'll be there in five."
          Now he could hear Johnathan coming in again. He suddenly said,"It's Jake Wilson!"
          Micheal growled, "Ah, him! Well, he's asked for it. That's two years of jail for him!"
          Johnathan said, "He's vandalized the car too, I'm handcuffing him now."
          Suddenly a hard cracking sound was heard, a cry of pain, and then a noise like a slamming door. Then there was complete silence.
          "John?" no-one answered. "Johnathan? Are you there?" Silence.
          "Bill, something's wrong at 488," Micheal shouted
          "Yes, I'm halfway there."
          "Well, get there." Then he added, "and fast."

click here for chapter 5

3

THE MAN WAS clad in a blue and black uniform with a walkie-talkie shifted onto the right shoulder. He had an assortment of instruments on his belt and a ID tag that said 'Jonathan Will'. He had heard that name before, definitely. One word rang in his head: Police. The man grabbed him by the waist and tried to hoist him into his car with blue and red streaks on the side.Well, he didn't get Jake in his flash automobile at first, because Jake grabbed the wing-mirror. Before the policeman could notice, though, he ripped a bit of metal off it. "Wrecking the car now, are you?" 'Jonathan' grunted. He'd finally managed to get both of them in the car now. He started the ignition. The engine growled in the background as Jonathan intoned,"A lot on the records: Jake Wilson, age 15, committing crimes for someone to earn money. Now tell me," he said, turning to him while now brandishing a pair of handcuffs,"who is that someo-" He stopped because Jake had smashed him over the head with the wing-mirror-plate, sharp edge down. The policeman fell, clutching his head. He whimpered a "no!" but Jake didn't even hear.
          "That should give you a 'split'-ting headache" Jake joked. And he gave him another smash on the head, just to be sure, then opened the door and ran outside.

His feet made nearly no sound as he looked around. He stared up and down the wooden boards and walls of the house. No lights, he thought. Good. He laughed and whispered, "Not that anyone would be up at three anyway." He took in a deep breath of the fresh, cold air. So different from HQ... He snapped back to consciousness.  Come on, he remembered. He walked to the door. Locked, of course. He walked round the whole building before finding a small window slightly open. He tried to find any hand or footholds. None. He figured he could just reach the windowsill if he jumped high enough. He tried once - but his hands scraped against the wood. The second time his hands found nothing but air. The third time he grabbed the windowsill! Yes! The metal scraped off a layer of his skin. He panicked and started to swing. He'd now managed to get one leg on the cold metal. With one last pull he went up and over. He shoved his bloody hands in his pockets. He looked around and found he was in a small dark room . On the other side was a rectangular object. He  walked over to it and found a body on it. Then it struck him that he had climbed into a bedroom. There were shelves beside the bed and on one, a giant crystal. Aha, he thought. Being careful not to make a sound, he picked it up. Just then he saw flashing lights from outside the window.  He ran to where he had come in, and looked down. Better get outta here... Jonathan will be on my tail soon.
          But he was wrong. In the police car lay a man slumped over his seat.
          Unconscious.

click here for chapter 4

2

NATHAN LIVED an ordinary life, in an ordinary house in the country, on a gravel road, on the outskirts of London. At breakfast the day after their spring cleaning Nathan said after rubbing his eyes, "Did you know, I heard a whole lot of cars go past on the road last night? Must of been a dozen at least!" Nathan's Dad, John, murmured behind a huge mess of newspaper. Elizabeth, his Mum, said "yes, it was very unusual."
          Harriet, his annoying sister, muttered "all it did to me was wake me up in the middle of the night," through her mess of hair.
          "And, did you know that one of them at least turned into our driveway? John spilt his coffee down his shirt and dropped his papers. Most of them sailed down onto the now spotless floor.
          Harriet said "robbed!?" while at the same time his mum said "who?"
          Nathan and Harriet walked outside, (Nathan's Dad, who was busy rushing upstairs to get to the shower, and his mum, who volunteered to try and find anything missing, were still inside) and were overwhelmed by the fresh breeze that was blowing. On the side opposite the house of the muddy, wet, driveway, there was a car in the shady drive.  A police car. He walked over to the muddy mystery. He tapped on on the driver's door.
          "Hello?" By this time Harriet had joined him. With no reply Nathan looked in the window. An unconscious man in a bulletproof jacket was slumped over the driver's seat. Now dried blood was smeared all over the floor, the seat and in the man's short hair. A cut ran over his scalp, his head resting on the dashboard with a large metal plate with sharp edges bloody on the passenger seat. "It looks like there's been a struggle," Nathan whispered.
          "That plate has been ripped off the wing mirror," said Harriet in an undertone. Harriet and Nathan stared at everything in horror.
          "We need to tell someone" said Nathan, "and fast." They crunched across the gravel. Reaching for the door knob and racing up the creaky stairs, Nathan zoomed into the lounge, Harriet close behind. He scanned the lounge, then found his mum in his room, still looking for robbed things. They both opened their mouth to speak, then stopped as their mum took a sharp intake of breath, then turn to Nathan and cry, "Nathan! Your crystal!"

click here for chapter 3

A CRACK RANG out from under his foot. He winced and looked around. Seeing no-one, he continued. The moon shone through the canopy, giving an eerie, silver glow on the pines. He wove through the forest, careful where to put his feet on the lumpy, damp ground. It was hard to do with the sticks scattered everywhere. There are very few cars on the road anyway,, he thought, as he turned to the gap in the trees he could  see just in the distance. He had only seen five lights go past. After all, it isn't like it's a city road. Looking ahead again, he saw the forest break off. He nodded. A good night for the operation. Suddenly, a string of fast moving lights on his right brought him back to his attention. He dropped to the ground - and smashed his arm against his flashlight. He cursed for his stupidity. His flashlight! Why hadn't he turned it off? He didn't need it because the moon was like this tonight. Bright - and full. He watched the cars fade off into the distance, but thought he saw one turn left. He rubbed his eyes. No, it couldn't have been. If any of those cars had seen him...
          He slithered along the ground a few metres, then got up and started walking cautiously across the pine needles again. He watched as that break in the trees got closer closer... He froze. He had definitely heard a low humming. An engine? But again, he turned it back. He was passing through the last row of pines now, the moonlight bright on his face. The plants grew higher as he pushed his way further into the spiky brown reeds that were now surrounding him. He felt the muddy water seep into his shoes and find his feet. Shivering, he plodded - no, waded now, further into the marsh. The water was now coming up to his legs. Reeds brushed passed him as he went further in to the marsh.The water came up to his thighs now - this was a swamp! "Now, Mr Sweetman, you didn't say it would be this bad," he spat out loud. After half-swimming about 20 metres through the now scattered reeds he realized the water was getting shallower now. "Good," he breathed, "almost there." The water was sinking back down to his ankles now, and he felt his heart coming up his throat. As the last muddy reeds parted, he looked back where he had come. Impressive... 50 metres through a swamp... Then he remembered, he had a job to do. He turned back...and stared straight into the eyes of a tall man, who said:
"Well...we meet again, Jake."

0click here0 for chapter 2

Tussock

In Summer, the tussock
sitting on the mountain tops
the scorching sun shining on the
mountain range

In Autumn, the tussockflapping as if talking to theother tussocksstaring down the hillside,waiting for the dreaded winter season to come

In Winter, the tussockis hardy againstthe winter winds and whiteoutsshaking them,dropping their seeds.

In Spring, the tussockshakes off its layer of snow,battling the spring stormsas small seedlingspop out of the ground,trying hard to not be ripped outby the strong winds.

In Summer, the tussock...

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Cool Facts

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Tongue and taste bud facts 

• The longest tongue of a human is 9.8cm...
• And the widest is 7.8cm!
• The largest tongue known is one of the blue whale, it is roughly 2,450 kg and is about 6 square metres.
• The average person's tongue has 10,000 taste buds.
• 10% of these taste buds are on the side and roof of the mouth.
• A butterfly has taste buds on its feet.
• the fact that the tongue has different parts that sense different flavours is a myth! (for more, click here)
• Some of the worlds trickiest tongue twisters are:
  • “The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.”
  • “pad kid poured curd pulled cold.”

Tadpole facts 

A tadpole's 'nickname' is a polliwog. 

One of a tadpole's favourite foods tends to be boiled lettuce. 

Most species of tadpole have mouths like a suction cap to hold onto their food while feeding. 

A tadpole will eat its tail if it is hungry!

Tadpoles grow faster in warm water.

Some tadpoles shrink into frogs smaller than their original size.

Some species of tadpoles grow up inside the egg and come out as frogs.

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Frog facts 

There are 6348 known species of frogs & toads.

Frogs' tongues are attached to the front of their mouth so that they can push big insects down their throat with their tounge.

If the frog's tounge is not strong enough to push the prey down their throat, they use their eyeballs on the roof of their mouth to help push it down. This is why frogs often blink when they have eaten something.

The bones of a frog form a growth ring every year, just like a tree!

Frogs can be as small as 1_cm or as large as 30_cm.

The Golden Dart Frog is the most poisonous frog on Earth; the skin of one frog can kill up to 1,000 people!

Arctic frogs can freeze solid, then thaw out again!

The cricket frog can jump up to 40 times its own length!

The african sharp nosed frog can jump higher than 5 metres.

Some frogs have heart shaped pupils.

Frogs can only see in black & white.

To see more awesome facts, click here.

A couple of limericks

There once was a sheep called Jim 
Who thought he'd go for a swim
He jumped off the ground! 
They found him drowned! 
The farmer was very grim.

There was a young man from France
Who loved and loved to dance
When he saw someone sad
He would shake them like mad!
Then pull them into a trance.

click here for more funny limericks

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood from the perspective of me being the wood-chopper.

I was having a well earned rest when the phone rang. "Hello? Wood-cutter at your service."

           "I'm at 51, Hunter Street."
           "OK, coming in half an hour." I hung up. I am a wood-cutter and I work for the public.
I set off for 51, Hunter street but on the way at 33, Hunter Street I heard a scream! I ran inside as fast as I could and saw a wolf. The screaming was coming from the wolf, or-inside the wolf? I slashed the wolf in half. Out popped two people. I said "well, I'd better be off then," and went on my way to 51, Hunter Street.

The Wreck of the Orpheus

A story about the wreck of the Orpheus from the perspective of me being Edward Wing, the signalman for the mouth of the Manakau Harbour

It was 1863. On a sunny day I saw a ship on the horizon. That's funny, I thought, I didn't think there was supposed to be a ship on February the 7th at this time of day. The boat came closer . I put up the 'turn left' flag signal. The boat didn't turn left. I could see the ship was called the HMS Orpheus. Finally the ship turned left. The ship was heading for the sandbar! I put up the 'stop' sign. It didn't. With drips of perspiration, I put the 'go back' sign up. TOO LATE!! The ship hit the sandbar with a crack! I saw people rowing in a rescue boat. It overturned with a big wave. It didn't look like the crew could swim! I couldn't look at the rest so I turned away. A few weeks later it was found that the captain of the Orpheus was using an out of date map and the sandbar was marked in a different place. Also found was the captain, lots of dead soldiers, and a made bed, all washed up on the beach. Sadly, only 52 bodies got buried. I felt very sad - but I guess that's all over now.

For more about the Orpheus click here.

Some acrostic poems

Sophisticated, picture, or chapter
Thousands of words to read
Opens your mind and imagination
Really hooks you in
You will love it

Taller and taller it grows
Reaching up to the sky
Eating up nutrients
Expelling oxygen

Part of everyday life
Extruding ink from the tip
No way to rub it out!!!

Pollination

Pollination is a way for plants to spread their species to survive. The pollinator collects pollen from one plant then transfers it to another-usually one close by.

          The plants are very clever with their 'luring system' (for living things). This is how it works: first the plant attracts the pollinator with bright (or sometimes dull) colours. Then, when the pollinator comes closer, it smells the sweet juicy nectar. The pollinator then goes to the flower to drink the nectar-but there is only enough nectar to make the pollinator want more! Meanwhile, the pollinator brushes against the pollen and gets it on the pollinator's body. The pollinator then transfers pollen to another flower of the same species, and the cycle starts over again.
          So, to conclude, plants are very intelligent in how they survive and perpetuate their species.

Rhyming mayhem

The fat cat in a hat sat on a flat mat with a gnat, a rat and a bat, having a chat. Then the rat pushed the fat cat in a hat into a vat with a splat. The rat said "take that" and he got a pat from the bat and the gnat.

There was once a confused chook who said 'clook' in a brook, but he didn't look to see a crook hiding in the nook who caught the chook with a hook to get cooked. What a book!

Haiku

what is a Haiku?

A haiku, (or 俳句), is a Japanese poem that has 5 syllables on the first line, 7  syllables on the second line, and 5 syllables on the last line. Haiku are usually about nature. Here are some haiku:

Millipede
Heaps of little legs
Crawling all over the place 
Friend of centipede

Moth
Hypnotized by lights
Navigating with the moon
Annoying flapping

Tree
Growing up and up
Trying to get the sunlight
Photosynthesis

Waterfall
Splashing down and down
Tumbling over the cliff face
Eroding the rock

Frog

Little jumpy hops 

Jumping over rocks

Hopping lots and lots

Some of them have spots

Mischievous Midnight - a poem

He spreads over you and makes mysterious sounds while being silent at the same time. He travels round the world, making whistling whispers. He eats the sun but is friendly to the stars.  "Come out, stars" he softly whispers. Then, once again, he spreads over you, making total darkness.

Lolly Poem

VERSE 1:

Ice block nice block

lick up hiccup

yummy delishummy

melty...

ICE BLOCK!!

VERSE 2:

Gummy bear yummy bear
slurpy burpy
chewy brewy
flavoury...
GUMMY BEAR!!

What is the solar system?

This is my definition of the solar system. 

The solar system is a group of large and small planets orbiting a smallish star. The small planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars-the rocky ones, followed by the medium planets: Uranus and Neptune- the icy gas giants, and lastly, the large planets: Jupiter and Saturn-the HUGE gas giants, making 8 planets altogether. Our solar system lives in a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way.