A man survives a helicopter crash in the desert and endures hallucinations from heat exhaustion and dehydration as he searches for help. He sees birds carrying spoons, talks to mushrooms, and finds an oasis with magical properties. After sprinting towards what he thinks is a building in the distance, he hits his head on a rock and awakens in a mental hospital, where a doctor tells him he will need to stay due to the traumatic experiences and illusions he endured in the desert.

1. Mystery Writers Choice
By Ella, Joseph and PJ.
Illusions
It was Tuesday 22 of July, 1995.
I was so happy we were almost home. I looked out of the helicopter
window beside me, seeing all the smoke and fire underneath the
chopper, I new we had won.
As I sat in the helicopter, I realised I had a very sore back and cramp
in my legs. All of a sudden, I heard the pilot yell “Mayday, Mayday,
were going down”. The alert button next to me was flashing red, and
knew it wasn’t good sign. The chopper was going out of control as it
shook furiously. It seemed like an anchor was grabbing hold of the
helicopter and jerking it towards the ground.
I woke up. I was only inhaling the smoke from the burning petrol, as I
breathed heavily. I rolled onto my side seeing the wreckage falling
apart. Beside me, I spotted my friend Simmons lying with his head
against the sand. As I looked at his face I saw blood trickling from
mouth, and that was when I knew he was dead. His pale white skin
and his lifeless body brought tears to my eyes as I walked away from
his limp corpse.
Everyone around me was dead apart from the pilot who I found
moaning with a broken neck in the remains of the crash. I tried all I
could to help him but as the flames grew bigger, I knew he wouldn’t
stand a chance. I felt rotten about leaving him but I knew I had to get
out of here. I ran as fast as I could away from the destroyed chopper,
trying to forget what had just happened. The big explosion behind me
made me trip over and land face first into the sand. I picked myself up
and kept running.
The only thing I could see was the sand dunes all around me, Making
me feel drowsy.
“Oh man, how am I gonna get out of this one” I said out loud,but then
in the distance something shiny caught my eye.

2. As it got closer I began to see it more clearly. The greens and yellows
were making a vibrant rainbow, then I began to think. A bird? Whats a
bird doing all the way out here? The bird then dropped something on
my head. It must have been the shiny object that I saw earlier. It was a
spoon. My head was throbbing so hard I didn’t realise how strange it
was for a bird to be flying with a spoon in it’s talons.
I was exhausted. The scorching hot sun brought pain to back as
though I had just been shot. Luckily I had my backpack with me, but it
carried less than I needed. It contained two bottles of water both half
empty, a compass full of sand and various bolts just in case the
chopper broke down, but I didn’t need them any more so I dropped
them in the sand and kept going.
I saw various mirages as I trudged, but as I ran up to them, I found
that they were just fragments of my imagination. The sun was getting
to my head, and maybe that’s where the budgies came from.
“Oh no I’m gonna die out here with no water”, I complained to myself,
but as I wiped the tears of my nose, I saw something else in the
distance. This time I was convinced it was real and not an illusion. As I
ran up to it, it was almost like a dream come true. A big pool of
sparkling water filled my vision as I jumped in. I was happy to have the
shade of the oasis trees, but even more cheerful about the water. I
filled both my drink bottles up to the brim, but then felt a sudden
dizziness that made me drop to knees. As i did I spotted these
amazing looking mushrooms on a near by tree trunk. I reached out to
grab them and then got an enormous fright. Something yelled “ Hey,
Don’t you put your dirty hands on me”. I realised it was the
mushrooms talking. “ What greatness. Talking mushrooms.”I said as I
grabbed them and scoffed them down.
I decided to leave the oasis, and try and find some civilization. As I
though I saw a building in the distance, I started to sprint towards it.
While doing it, I tripped hard and smacked my head on a rock.
As my eyes began to open, all I could see was the blank walls around
me. A man in completely white clothing strolled through the door. He

3. peered down at me and said “ You have been through quite a lot so
we are going to keep you here for a while.”
“No!” I objected. “ There were birds and spoons and. and
mushrooms...”I muttered.
“ There there. You have been through quite a lot for one life time and I
think you will need to stay here with us at the National Mental
hospital.”
Oh know. I think the illusions have taken over.