Volcanic Panic

• Aidan Tang, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2017

Parachuting into an active volcano from a burning helicopter was not Jack’s idea of fun. But look where he had ended up. The day before, Jack had entered the lottery and somehow won a 5 star helicopter. It must have been a prank because he soon found out it wasn’t very good. The tail rotor of the helicopter caught fire and sent it into a tailspin. There was only one thing to do; jump. As Jack fell at a neck-breaking speed, he noticed a piece of debris that might have once been the helicopter’s door. Instantly, he launched himself onto it. Skiing down through the open air was a very thrilling experience; unless of course, it was into the rim of an active volcano. Fifty meters until impact, Jack calculated. Twenty-five. Ten. Suddenly, he changed his position so his weight was leaning awkwardly to one side. But it cost him…
He closed his eyes. ‘Crash!’ He had hit the very edge of the volcano and was now speeding down the rocky surface of it. Oh well, at least he was still alive. Ahead, a massive boulder let him down. KABOOM! The world turned black.
Trees; lots and lots of trees. He looked around and it occurred to him that he was smack-bang in the middle of a forest clearing. Suddenly, he realised that towering above him was the very volcano that he nearly fell into. He was shocked. How had he survived that? Just as the thought came to his head, another one popped up. Well I might as well be dead now, as I will be if I don’t find any food or water soon. A small trail of smoke drifted up into the atmosphere as Jack thought about his mortality. He turned around and noticed the smoke.
“Smoke!” He shouted to nobody in particular.
Smoke means fire. This discovery might just be able to save his life! He ran excitedly in that direction.
A little while later he arrived at a river. A small temporary hut was perched precariously on the sandbank next to the fast flowing water. There was a hole in the top emitting smoke to the sky. He walked in. An old man sat beside an open fire cooking a fresh fish. He turned and noticed the boy staring at him.
“Hello little boy” the old man said.
“How did you get here?” Asked Jack anxiously.
“Never mind that, what are you doing here?
“Meh, some falling and some more falling.”
“I see, shall I give you some food before the rescue crews come?”
“Yeah, okay.”
So Jack and the old man walked off into the distance, not noticing the four glowing eyes watching them from afar. Just waiting for the time to come...