Ned Kelly Strikes Again

• Hope Mons, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

It’s dark, cold, wet and mouldy in here and I can’t see a thing. I guess it’s better that being out in the open with the Kelly gang looking for you. Ever since we were told we were coming out here I knew we were going to find them. But not like this.
I was given the job to cook for everyone in my patrol group. There were four of us. Scanlon, Lonigan and Kennedy. They were all good mates of mine, but there all gone now, they were shot by the Kelly gang.
It all started when Kennedy and Lonigan were out patrolling the area, they got to go out while constable Scanlon and I were told to stay and take care of the camp. I was just minding my own business when a man came out of the bush and yell at us to, ’Bail up!’ I think it was Ned Kelly. I stood up with my hand on my holster but then three men walked out behind him. We were out numbered. After a while of waiting Lonigan got up and dove behind a log reaching for his revolver. Just then Ned saw him and he shot him dead. He was as dead as a doornail. As I stared in horror at the dead body Ned Kelly came closer and asked me some questions. As I sat down I saw the other members of the gang wolfing down the food I made earlier, they were eating like horses. While I was waiting and keeping an eye out for Kennedy and Scanlon I could see Ned get up from his seat and go into our tents.
Then out of the corner of my eye I saw two horses galloping towards the camp site. I jumped up and yelled at them, “We are surrounded, give up your weapons,” but they wouldn’t stop. Why aren’t they stopping? All of a sudden Ned came out of hiding with the rest of his gang. Scanlon saw them and shot at Ned but missed. Ned then shot at Scanlon twice. There was a quiet scream as he fell off his horse. He was dead.
Kennedy stared at his dead colleague in horror. He jumped off his horse using it as a shield and sot at the outlaws. One of the bullets grazed Dan Kelly’s shoulder. The horses terrified from the gun fire ran off into the bush, and just as that happened a window of opportunity opened up for me and I leapt up on to Kennedy’s horse as it rode off into the bush.
I didn’t dare to look back to the camp frightened to death, I kept thinking about Lonigan and Scanlon were shot dead in front of me. The pictures of them lying on the blood stained ground left a bad taste in my mouth. I couldn’t stop thinking about Kennedy. Is he still alive? What will happen to him? I could just see the sun rising over the horizon. Then all of a sudden a branch flung me into the face. As I fell off the horse
I could hear heavy footsteps running towards me. Looking around for a place to hide I found an old deserted wombat hole and crawled into it and laid there trying to catch my breath. As the footsteps got louder and louder I heard someone say, “We’ll have to split up and find him by morning.”
And here I am lying here helplessly staring at the starry sky waiting for the Kelly gang to find me. As I lie here I can hear the sounds of dying footsteps. Cramped inside this wombat hole all I can see is a narrow hole leading up to the world above me. I could not help myself of thinking about the tragic accident that had seemed like a night mare. As I gazed up at the sheet of black and gold, I could not help myself to think about what will happen to all those families now fatherless. How will I tell them? I should probably wait until morning then and my way to Mansfield and raise the alarm, and while I am doing that I may as well gather groups of men to get revenge on the horrible murdering Kelly gang!