Results W


Finish the story competition


e had masses of entries for this competition because, as we all know, AQUILA readers love to finish a good story!


Pete Johnson, a favourite children’s author, who started the story for you, has now judged the competition. He says your entries were ‘full of energy, with bags of style too’, so well done to everyone who entered. He has picked the ten winners and has given each a personal comment on their work.


We couldn’t print all the winners’ stories in the magazine so if yours is not here, check out the website where you’ll find all the rest, www.aquila.co.uk


The ten winning stories were by authors: Alice van den Bosch, Katie Blackwell, Lauren Blum, Anna Heylen, Corey Hotchen, Oscar Humphreys, Aronya Roy, Isabella Steel, Melissa Vural and Shona Wright, who have all won a copy of Pete Johnson’s book, The Bad Spy’s Guide, published by Corgi Yearling.


Here are some of the winning stories.


The story he started went like this…Everything was very blurred. My eyes seemed to have dust in them. I didn’t know why. In fact, I wasn’t even sure where I was. I rubbed my eyes hard. All at once I saw a flash of faces peering down at me. And dimly I heard a


woman say, ‘Ah, so you’re awake at last.’ It was a cold, unfriendly voice. ‘We’ve been waiting for you.’ And with a stab of horror I suddenly remembered that …


Aronya Roy, age 10


… I had been running away from the Snakefang gang. I heard the sound of bullets being shot and I fell to the ground. I can’t remember what happened next. I remembered the voice! It was the voice of the leader of the Snakefangs, Viper! “Come with ussssssss!” she said as some of the members, Boa and Adder, dragged me into a room full of cages, each one containing … a snake! They pushed me to the floor and sealed me in. I think


they pressed a button because, all of a sudden, all the cages were unlocked. The snakes came slithering out of their cages, hissing furiously. There were no friendly snakes either! The room that I was trapped in was full of dangerous snakes. In my hurry to escape, I got bitten by a couple of cobras. I noticed then, that the walls were made of glass. I used my pet rock to break the glass and ran out. As I bolted off in search of their treasury (where they


probably kept the diamond) I heard alarms sounding all around me. Suddenly, two Snakefangs blocked our path. I turned to run away but saw Boa and Adder blocking my path. I was trapped. They shot their modified poison rifles at me. I ducked so each Snakefang got poisoned. I picked up two poison guns, just in case. I went through the sliding doors to find Viper, waiting for me. Just then, I noticed that all the snakes had followed me into that room. I realised what I had to do. I ran out of the room and pulled the door shut. As I ran, I heard Viper screaming. “It’s too late for her,” I thought.


IAN I found my way into the unlocked treasury. I found the


diamond. I swiped it. I felt weak and dizzy. I thought back to the snake room and remembered the poisonous cobras. I glanced at my hand. It was a dark magenta in colour. I then realised that I was about to die. I took one last look at the diamond and clasped my fingers round it with a dead man’s grip. I felt as if something was draining out of my body. I looked back to my poisoned hand. It had regained its regular colour. I was awestruck. Could it be that the diamond could heal a person infected with poison? Could that be the reason the Snakefangs stole it in the first place? I had to destroy it. Who knows what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands. But diamonds are virtually indestructible! No way … it had to be worth a shot. I sprayed the diamond with the poison gun. The diamond became a deep violet. Then it shattered. I ran and found my way out of the Snakefang headquarters. I got a bus home and immediately went to bed. A few years later… “Hey who are you with the gun?


That gun looks familiar … NO! PLEASE DON’T! HELP! HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”


Pete says, “This is super - full of action and excitement. Gripping entertainment, featuring deadly snakes and a precious diamond.”


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