” The little local legend? Really?” I asked curiously. I am shocked, so much that I can’t move. ” Yes, please hide me!” I didn’t know why she needs to hide. Surely the Dragomander would not come after her. Why would it need to? ” Why do you need to hide?” I have an idea of her reply, but I waited to find out. I knew it. She was aware that the dragomander could fly with it’s feather like wings, and had eaten many people down on the beach at night.

Half an hour later, I found my self and my new friend, apparently named Opal, on the edge of the beach. The sea runs over my shoes, soaking my socks and part of my jeans. Opal runs ahead of me, surprisingly fast, leaving me panting and shouting after her. When I had left my room in the shop, I had felt brave, and wanting an adventure. Now there was no turning back. ” Opal! Slow down, wait! I’m not as fast as you!” ” We need to find it, Lizzy! ” she replied. Thunder cracks above us, my bravery drowning, being replaced with fear. Opal carries on running, leaving me panting. Suddenly, lightening illuminates the midnight sky snapping me into action. I race to catch up with Opal.

We reach some steps that lead to the boardwalk from the beach and climb them. The clothes shop, Sailors Tailors that sells swimming costumes, t-shirts, shorts, is shut and locked up, ready for the impending storm. The fish and chip shop, Chips on the House, is boarded round the window, to protect them from smashing in. Opal found the pier to be shut tightly, with locks and chains, and a bit of tape that they use for crimes. Just across the pier, Opal pointed out a pile of scales followed by some slime. I was stuck on the spot. Opal was much braver than me. She edges up to the pier and pulls a bit of tape off. She then called to me. ” Lizzy!” she called. I couldn’t reply. Fear had taken over my body. ” Lizzy!” she called again. I had found a large tooth. ” Ella Eliza Parka!” That got me.

Hardly daring to breath, Opal and I begin pulling on the locks and chains. The wind whistles in my ear and I shout out: ” I think we’ve done it! Opal!” Opal shields her eyes from the wind and rain and makes her way on to the pier. I have no choice but to follow her. At that moment, Opal stops and stares. A black figure down in the crashing waves could not be missed. Opal mutters something to me in a petrified way. ” It’s here. It’s the dragomander”. I know it is the dragomander, what else could it be. Then a long wail and a roar echoed around the pier.

Bravely, Opal edges closer to the water, shaking with fear. I wouldn’t dare to come with her. I was more scared than she was. It’s wings open up and it paces out of the water, heading towards poor Opal. ” Lizzy, help!”. She is paralyzed with fear. The stench of seaweed and bones is coming closer, filling my nostrils.

Just as quickly as the situation happened, the dragomander flies into the sky and hurtles back aiming for Opal. Then, it dives back into the water. Suddenly, it leaps again, this time aiming for the pier. Shards of wood fly in the air as the dragomander crashes the pier. It crashes, back into the water with a deep long growl and a wail. I’m still shaking with fear.

It’s more than likely that you’ve been to Discovery-on-Sea some time in your life. I’d expect you would of swam in the sea, showing off your skills and looking for sea glass. Then you probably would of pulled your parents to the ice creamery and found it difficult to pick just one flavour. You would come to the shops, spending all of your pocket money that you were saving up for your trip, and maybe buy a frosted doughnut. It’s that kind of place. In the summer.

In the winter, the chilly air of the coast line would blow your hat of, and the voices of young children splashing in the water would be replaced with crashing waves and howling winds. The boardwalk shops would most certainly be closed, because nobody would want to visit in this sort of weather. The only store open would be the small café serving coffee and tea, that quickly froze as soon as it felt the cold air.

Chapter 1

My name is Ella Eliza Parka ( but everyone calls me Lizzy, due to my middle name ) and I work in the seaside gift shop, Buckets and Spades. I am the stock manager and make sure that everything is on the shelf and that we never run out of anything. In the summer, we nearly run out of everything, but in the winter, nobody visits. I never get paid in the winter, so I call it my bad months. I live in the room above the shop, I need the money for my rent, so I can pay the actual manager of the shop. My room has a sleeping bag laid on the old, dusty, rat infested floor. There is also a small wood burner for warmth.

Suddenly, after the day was done and I’d gone to lounge in my room, a tapping sound echoes from the window. I felt my heart start to beat faster. I begin to feel scared, and I am alone. A voice came from the outside. “Let me in, please!” the person said. I stumbled over to the window and pulled it open. A freezing cold girl falls in and scrambles down on the old armchair. “Hide me!” she asks. I don’t know what to do. “Thank goodness the curtains are closed.”

Now, before I tell you the rest of the unusual time, there is something else I must tell you. A tale. A little local legend. A creature, known as the Dragomander has been sighted more than once in Discovery-on-Sea. People hear its spine chilling sounds, sobs and wails. Every night, doors are shut tight and curtains slammed shut. Stories of it flying up from the water, and stories of it eating missing sailors. It smells like fish and seaweed and rotten flesh. I’ve never seen it. I just rely on the tales; a new one every morning, of the few brave people who dare to find out for themselves. To illusive to be caught, some say. It shall eat anything in its reach, others recount.

“What are you hiding from? It’s mid winter, why would anybody be out, especially this late!” I asked.
“I’ve seen it! The legend! It’s true! I promise you!” The girl let out. This took me by surprise. The legend wasn’t true, was it? I’d never heard sobs and wails. Could I trust this girl? Was she telling the truth?

Dear Diary,

Yesterday evening, I was plodding along the boardwalk in my home town of Kington, when the most extraordinary thing happened. It was a chilly moonlit night, and the pier seemed ghostly. Silently, I walked down on to the sandy shore. Looking up, I gazed at my reflection under the iridescent picture of the stars. I sighed quietly to myself and carried on along the beach. I found myself next to the splintered, wooden beam of the pier and looked up through the cracks; something moved. Noiselessly, I followed the moving figure. I then realised what it was. A rat. I nervously chuckled to myself and told myself that I was being silly, scared of a rat.

Suddenly, I heard bubbling. I twisted on my heels and stared at the sea. The bubbling was getting louder and the pressure was so harsh that I thought the sea would explode. Without warning, two fiery eyes pierced into my body like lasers; two black horns snipped through the salty water. I paced backwards with fear and gulped. The creature opened its mouth and I spied thousands of razor sharp knife like teeth.
As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared into complete darkness. It was gone. Maybe those myths were true. Had I just seen Hazard the Bubble Monster?

Dear Diary,

Yesterday evening, I was plodding along the boardwalk in my home town of Kington, when the most extraordinary thing happened. It was a chilly moonlit night, and the pier seemed ghostly. Silently, I walked down on to the sandy shore. Looking up, I gazed at my reflection under the iridescent picture of the stars. I sighed quietly to myself and carried on along the beach. I found myself next to the splintered, wooden beam of the pier and looked up through the cracks; something moved. Noiselessly, I followed the moving figure. I then realised what it was. A rat. I nervously chuckled to myself and told myself that I was being silly, scared of a rat.

Suddenly, I heard bubbling. I twisted on my heels and stared at the sea. The bubbling was getting louder and the pressure was so harsh that I thought the sea would explode. Without warning, two fiery eyes pierced into my body like lasers; two black horns snipped through the salty water. I paced backwards with fear and gulped. The creature opened its mouth and I spied thousands of razor sharp knife like teeth.
As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared into complete darkness. It was gone. Maybe those myths were true. Had I just seen Hazard the Bubble Monster?

Feelings and Problems

As a result of careers- salaries help families thrive.

As a result of fortune- luck is not so common else where.

As a result of gratitude- good feelings spread.

As a result of sorrow- loneliness and sadness sink in.

As a result of education- wise people are reborn.

As a result of play- squawking hyenas play tag.

Due to sleep- happiness lingers longer.

Due to reading- more places to visit, more things to see.

Due to plastic- a blanket of waste refuses to leave.

Due to meditation- levitating minds flow with joyous thoughts.

Due to family- love lives longer.

As a result of life – many families are saved.

As a result of remembrance- candles flicker and shine.

As a result of pets- boredom is broken.

Adventure Week   By Eloise SWW

On Monday, I found a devastated penny, waiting for somebody lucky to collect it.

On Tuesday, ​I strolled to school, the frost nipping my finger tips and the breeze taking my hair out of place.

On Wednesday, I saw a lonely leaf swaying in the wind, leaving the tree where it belongs. ​

On Thursday,​ I touched a piece of ice, making my body cold and aching as I pulled my hand of the frost.

On Friday​, I tasted fear in my mouth, as I walked through the forest of skeletal trees and sticking out roots.

​On Saturday, I heard the howl of a dog and the cry of a bird repeating themselves as if they were having a conversation.

On Sunday,​ I dreamed of the people I had once helped, and the feeling of happiness swirled around inside me.