Captured

• Joshua Lane, Grade 6, St Mary's School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

Ahhh! Blood curdling screams were heard by the unsuspecting tourists as the sound rebounded off the tunnel walls where they were gathered in the dark. Their shaking hairs stood on end as goose bumps crept across their skin and the tourists trembled in their shoes. Tears started running down their cheeks in fear.
The screaming voices were lurking somewhere in the prison but where, exactly, was unknown. The voices shouted angrily, terrorising the tourists, and demanded, “Give me your money so I can buy this prison and there will be no harm. If you don’t you will be captured.”
The tourists started to panic. This was supposed to be a fun trip. They looked at each other and were reluctant to hand over their notes and gold coins to a menacing, screaming voice. With a sense of dread and the will to stay alive, the tourists gathered their money, but a creepy feeling came over them as they felt they were being watched. Seconds later, as promised, the source of the screams pounced from a hole in the wall and captured the tourists, throwing a huge, rough, hessian sack over their heads and dragged them away to a hidden place in the prison.
They were in a mysterious room that was very cramped and a ripple of shock quickly went through the group. One tourist had a phone to call the police. He fumbled the phone in his trembling hands and he tried to dial triple zero. The phone slipped and crashed to the floor. Everyone held their breath, hoping the noise wouldn’t attract unwanted attention. He tried again and this time, through the shaking, he was successful.
The capturer was off getting ready to capture another tourist group, until there were loud knocks on the huge, wooden door of the prison along with loud yells. After hearing this yelling, the capturer came sprinting worriedly back to the room and ordered for the tourists to be hushed.
The knocks on the door ceased. Instead of knocks, there were loud, continuous bangs. The capturer was worried enough, then suddenly, the door crumbled and the police stormed in to save the day. The police found the capturer and while one officer gave him some money, another snuck up behind him and made the arrest.
The police freed the relieved tourists but the capturer wasn’t let off that easily. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and was shipped overseas for community service. “Curse you Fremantle Prison!” he screamed. “Curse you community service!”