Nick Wood And The Silver-Back Gorilla

• Jack Newton, Grade 4c
• Short Story
• 2013

Nick Wood and the Silver Back Gorilla
Written by Jack Newton

“Don’t stop!” yelled Nick.
The famous explorer, Nick Wood, was exploring South America with his crew. He had found lots of new species of animals. He had also lost a leg battling a black caiman. Today he was looking for a silver-back gorilla.
“Keep going.” said Nick. “We must find the gorilla.”
He was determined to find the gorilla. Humans rarely found silver-back gorillas in the wild.
After a couple of hours Nick told his crew that there were a couple of miles left to go. As they walked they became really tired. Nick decided to stop for lunch. He had a chicken and mayonnaise sandwich.
“Mmmmm, yum.” he said.
As Nick was eating he saw some huge animal tracks.
“Hey guys, come here,” he said. “Take a look at this.”
Everybody came rushing over to see what he had found. His friend, Tom knew animal footprints like the back of his hand.
“Astonishing!” he said “These are the biggest footprints I have ever seen! This gorilla must be gigantic!”
Nick stood up and said, “Follow the footprints. Hopefully it will lead us to the animal’s position.”
And with that he started walking again. Nobody followed him.
“What are you waiting for? Come on!” Nick called.
Everybody groaned, stood up and trudged along.
Hours later Nick stopped. He had heard a rustle in the leaves above. Nick looked up and saw a black speck in the trees. It was the gorilla! Then one of his friends stepped on a twig. The gorilla started climbing and running through the tops of the trees.
“Follow it!” yelled Nick.
They ran and ran until the gorilla walked into a cave.
“Hmmm, what to do, what to do?” said Nick.
“I hope it is a good idea.” said Tom, staring at all the bones surrounding the mouth of the cave. “As well as being big, this gorilla must have big teeth!”
“The only way we can catch it without risking to kill it is to go through the entrance.” said Nick.
“But why?” asked Tom.
“It’s the only way.” said Nick.
“Oh no” groaned Tom.
Click! went the flashlights as the cave was illuminated by torchlight. They could see the gorilla stirring. “Be quiet.” whispered Nick, as he watched the gorilla get up. “Hide!”
Nick shook as the gorilla walked past him hiding behind a pillar of stone. He was surprised when it jumped up and over thin air near a wall.
“What is it doing?” wondered Nick.
The gorilla had laid down to sleep again, which provided Nick with the opportunity to find out what it was jumping over. As he walked he fell over on tripwire!
“Oh no!”
Arrows whizzed past Nick’s head. He looked over at the wall. The gorilla had noticed and was racing towards him. Nick dodged the gorilla’s attack. Instead of hitting him it hit the pillar holding up the cave. Nick and his friends got out just in time. The cave crashed down in the gorilla.
“Phew!”