Volcano Escape

• Levi Vonk, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2015

April 1st, 2014
I love fishing on my special flat rock out looking the vast ocean. I love having that fresh sea breeze rush across my face. I've already caught five Flathead, but I still have some bait on the hook. It’s April fool’s day today. I saw some pretty funny tricks when I went to the village today. Oh! Something’s tugging on the hook! I hope it’s a fish! No! It let go! Now that is annoying. DING! DING! DING! That’s the village volcano alarm bell! As if the volcano would erupt! It hasn't for over 100 years and it probably never will. Now that is a perfect example of someone who really wants to fool people. I don’t get tricked easily, though. Most tricks don’t work on me. They’re funny, but I still don’t fall for them.
Hey! Something’s caught the bait! I’d better reel it up. And. . . It’s a Flathead. I've caught enough tasty fish for dinner tonight. I’d better pack up my gear now. I pack it all into my tackle box. Now I have to walk back to my hut, about half an hour’s walk away from my special flat rock. The sky has been getting strangely darker. I don’t know why.
I have arrived home at last! Hey, wait. This place is deserted. What’s going on? It looks like my parents left in a hurry. Pots and chairs are knocked over and the door is left wide open! The volcano just rumbled! What’s happening? Is the alarm bell actually not a joke? DING! DING! DING! That’s the alarm bell AGAIN! This is no April fool’s day prank. This is serious. I don’t know what could happen next. I had better get a move on. I need to reach the village jetty before the volcano erupts! The volcano rumbled more violently than before!!! I screamed. I need to run through the village and to the beach jetty! I’m running as fast as I possibly can.
I've reached the village now. I look at the volcano and ash, lava and molten rock is pouring out rapidly. I’m finding it extremely hard to control myself at the moment. I’m pretty sure the eruption isn't at its peak yet. The lava is beginning to flow through the lush jungle behind the village, destroying everything in its path. I keep on running towards the jetty. THUD! I just tripped over! My leg! It hurts so much! I can hardly walk! I need to get to the beach – quickly! The ash cloud is surprisingly close. I run as fast as I possibly can, my injured leg throbbing. I reach the beach, with lava rushing through the village and totally destroying all the houses. I find an old boat and push it out to sea. I join up with my fellow villagers and family. I look at the island’s village. It is all destroyed. The village might be gone, but I will remember it forever. –By Levi Vonk