1. PIRATES ARE COMING!
I awoke in the middle of the night, a cool breeze rolling through my window
causing me to shiver. I got up and strolled to the window to look out upon the
quiet village at night, the only sound was the rustle of leaves in the wind and the
soft lulling of the sea on the beach. At first I didn’t notice anything out of the
ordinary, but suddenly something in the sea caught my eye. A ship.A huge ship
that shouldn’t have been so close to the shore.
I began to scan the village again, this time more attentively. I quickly noticed
dark figures silently moving through the streets, the only light was the reflection
of moonlight off some metal they carried. Weapons!
I stealthily moved away from the window and turned into the house. I ran to my
parent’s room and shook them awake, telling them what I had seen. My father
leapt out of bed and fished an axe, a sword and a shield from under his bed. He
pushed the sword and shield into my empty hands and motioned towards the
door. He whispered to my mother to hide. And then scrambled down the stairs
with me in his shadow.
My father muttered “Run through the streets and make as much noise as you
can! Warn everyone!”. He shoved me out the door and pointed to the street
going north, he turned and began jogging the opposite way, towards the beach.
Towards the pirates.
I was scared, but I had to warn people. I began running as quick as I could
through the village roaring “Pirates! Pirates in the village!”. As I passed I could
see men and young boys running out of homes, hastily throwing on scraps of
armour and readying themselves with weapons.
I suddenly turned down a street and found myself face-to-face with a vicious
looking tyrant, with a merciless glint in his eyes. He began running towards me,
bellowing something in a language I had never heard. I didn’t know what to do,
the shield and sword my father had given me hung heavy in my limp arms. With
just five yards between us, he was suddenly shot down with an arrow form an
unknown saviour. I ran on, the sound of steel ringing on steel echoed
throughout the village.
I soon came across my father, sitting in the village square, breathless and tired.
He told me that the pirates had fled back to their ship, but had managed to take
several prisoners, mainly children who had been found hiding in houses. He told
me they would be sold as slaves. I had been lucky not to have been captured.
We had won, but what would happen next time?