Found

• Lillie Nolan, Grade 6, Gorokan Public School
• Short Story
• 2016

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

I sigh in disappointment, "You win, again." Eli, my closest friend, lies maintaining the expression on his face, he turns on the television, it opens onto the news, he stares in boredom. I can tell his had enough of staying indoors and doing nothing. I turn up the volume. We edge closer looking for an adventure, there’s a report that catches our eyes, maybe this is how a fish feel as it sees the bait of a hook, the temptation to go and explore, we take the hook.
The reports on a valuable possession known as the skull of rubies. Last seen around this area, Eli and I exchange looks. I nod.
We grab what we’ll need and head off, but first we need to make a few stops. Awhile later, there’s five of my best friends riding beside me. We think of where it could be Eli suggests a swamp. “There’s none of them around here,” Ethan speaks up, he thinks of beaches we think of our chances and agree.
We’re at Two Heads Beach, we start the pursuit. I beckon them towards me, they follow keenly, it’s a man lying there a shovel next to him. he looks surprised to see us here, we explain what we’re doing, he doesn’t seem that surprised anymore he tell us we’ve got no luck and that he’s been looking for almost two hours, but to me that doesn’t seem that long.
He gets up and holds out his hand I take it. He calls himself john, he asks if we would like to help, and us as 12-year-old kids agree to go with a strange man we’ve never seen before.
We’re in a dark slimy, slippery inlet following john. We’re surrounded by the darkness which as we go on seems to be eating us alive. I’m awoken from my thought by a shove to potent for a 12-year-old, it’s John!
I tumble over what feels like algae and oysters. My fall is followed by shrieks and sounds of children dwindling into the darkness. "Ahaha!" bellows John, "you’ve basically lead me to the rubies. You’ll never find your way out of here!" his footsteps trail away into the distance…
I reach for my torch, the farther I realise it is, the more determine I become. My skin shows red as I crawl through the piercing crustaceans, I grab my torch rising back to the path reunited with my friends.
We walk through muck until we spot the thief in the distance. The others not thinking, charge at him. I follow, not knowing what to do as I watch John push through the fight until he falls to the ground. Somer grabs me and beckons to the skull, I grab it and run, my friends following.
The light shines as we exit the hell. We return to the police station not mentioning the details, instead we decide being found in the sand sounds better.