The Book Launch Awards 2022

London Town, Oliver Street 1640, streetlights in the silent village, all the house lights had been turned off, except one house. A poet’s house. This man was a very successful poet, and he was thinking of a new poem.&nbsp;&nbsp;His mind was blank, his feather pen fluttered across the page but soon stopped as he stood in anger and sadness, when his friend came in with a face of disappointment. “It’s over Timothy…” &nbsp;“What’s over, what do you mean?” he replied in confusion,&nbsp; “Your career no one cares about what write about anymore, it’s not important like it used to be.”&nbsp; Before Timothy got the chance to reply his friend walked out the door. A frown appeared on Timothy’s face, he grabbed his lantern, put on his shoes, and picked up his pen and diary. In tears he walked out the door and tiptoed outside to the forest for a peaceful walk trying not to wake anyone. Trees swayed in the wind, and he walked up to a well, got his pen and diary, took a deep breath and went to drop them down the well. Suddenly a bright glowing light appeared out of the well; with caution and curiosity he leaned closer, but as he leaned in his foot slipped and before he could begin to save himself, he was already falling down the bright glowing tunnel.&nbsp; Suddenly, he was at the bottom of the well. It was pitch black. He felt around the room in fear when he found a rusty old door before him; he turned the knob. As a new world of an old town full of pollution, overwhelming sunlight and abandoned looking houses appeared Timothy remained aware of his surroundings. As he walked down the messy path, he saw a man sitting down on the path.&nbsp;

He approached the man and said “where am I? What is the date? What’s the time?”&nbsp; The man replied as much as he could as Timothy stressfully asked questions the man replied “please calm down sir this is London, Oliver Street. It’s 2084 and 11:35pm.” Timothy stood there in shock, eyes widened, and face went pale, t-t-twenty eighty-four? This isn’t possible. He ran away and sat on the path in tears of shock, the heat was getting too warm, so he took of his jacket gradually the day sun became warmer and warmer and warmer. Timothy saw the outline of something in his pocket. He quickly grabbed the item, then realised it was his diary book for poets. In tears he lightly wrote out a poem of how we need to protect the planet and care for the world and each other; he scrunched up the paper and threw it in the well in hope someone would find it. Timothy sat down on the path in sadness thinking he would never get back home. He went to go back to the man, but he was gone. Suddenly, the well door shone as it slowly opened Timothy took fast-paced steps hoping this would be how he gets out of this world; he ran into the light and tripped in the woods. Timothy had tears of relief pouring down his face. Soon after Timothy published his poem about how we need to care for the world; decades later he was still known as one of the greatest poets of all time and thanks to him the world never ended up being like he had witnessed.

It was 1939 when the world fell into darkness. All the children were shaking and screaming for their parents.&nbsp; Anyway back today, it was a normal day no one suspected a thing, all the children were at school and all the adults are at work. It had just struck 3pm and there were strange plane sounds. Every minute, every second the sounds grew louder and louder. All of a sudden, there was a loud explosion, the air filled with debris and smoke.&nbsp; The air was thick with dust;&nbsp;&nbsp;every single man, woman and child were slowly, painfully suffocating, until they managed to find their masks, they placed them on. Still the gun shots continued. The world became darker and darker until the sun and moon didn’t even have any shine. The air tasted toxic! Everything was somehow destroyed. All the people rushed out of their houses, thinking it was over until there was a high pitched screeching noise filling the air with suspense. The sirens started to blare signifying a bomb was coming. Sweat dripped from their faces as they all squished into one bunker.&nbsp; As they were sitting there silently, they started to think about how their country looked before, all the flowers were bright and beautiful, the birds were chirping and people were jumping around in the street and then they think back to the present time where the risk of dying was very high. The silence grew louder and louder as the plane as the plane got closer and closer. The air become toxic as the fumes of the smoke aeroplane filled the air. They heard the bomb being released, that was the moment they all know their lives, their homes were ruined.&nbsp;

A few moments later the bomb plummeted through the sky, destroying everything in its path. Bang! The moment they never thought would happen their lives were destroyed. A few moments later, after many more bombs they decided they would come out of hiding.&nbsp; Cautiously, they peered out of their bunkers to see what was once their best life. Their best life turned into their worst in a matter of hours. The stars started emerging, there was only one problem, well there was more than one problem, but the one they were focusing on was the time. It was 12am and they had nowhere to sleep. They couldn’t even travel anywhere. They had to be mindful that there was a massive crater in the ground where the bomb had landed.&nbsp; A few weeks later they had an idea, they decided to look for supplies to build a temporary home. Before starting the journey, they knew that it may take a while and that it may take a while and that they had to put every bit of effort into it. They started looking around for pieces from their old houses- well you may be thinking this is going to be a happy ending, well not really- the unspeakable happened…&nbsp;

Humans have always liked us. And that’s always made the wasps jealous. We make the honey and we help pollinate the plants. That’s pretty much what we do all day and all they do is sting people; so we deserve the human’s love. My story begins on a lovely summer’s morning, and the trees were slowly swaying in the gentle breeze. I was happily flying about the light blue sky, sniffing the lovely, colourful, beautiful flowers that surrounded my hive. I flew around and around; I flew near the lake and saw my reflection. But my reflection wasn’t all I saw. I also saw a huge black cloud. I scratched my head in confusion as it was a beautiful day, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. That’s when I realised that it wasn’t a cloud. It was a swarm. A swarm of wasps.&nbsp; I stared intently at the huge swarm, which was getting closer and closer to my hive. All the bees in my hive were out, collecting pollen from a nearby field, which meant it was up to me to protect the hive from the wasps. As quick as a flash, I darted into my hive, with the wasps close behind me. I flew around, frantically thinking of what the wasps wanted and how I could stop them. My thoughts were rudely interrupted by the wasps swarming into the hive. I was passing up and down in a frantic manor, and I didn’t know where to hide. Panicked, I looked at the wall, to see jars and jars of honey. In the nick of time, I flew behind a small jar of honey. I was watching the wasps, curious as to what they were doing. It was then that I realised what they were doing. Their plan was to steal all of our honey, so that the humans would like them more. I watched them gathering jars and jars of honey, and flying away with them. After a few minutes, there were no jars of honey left.&nbsp;

Then, the Queen and the rest of the bees came back. They were all very confused and angry as to why all of their hard work was gone. I quickly explained what they had done, and the Queen bee was fuming by the end of my story. She then asked me to go and retrieve our honey. I was shocked, as the Queen bee had never even asked me to gather pollen, yet alone get our honey back.&nbsp;&nbsp;I knew that the entire hive was counting on me. The Queen sent 2 other bees to come with me, a slightly fat bee named Bob, and a muscular bee named Bill. Our one mission was to get the honey and return, without the wasps knowing that we took it back. So we flew out of the hive and went to the wasps nest. Luckily, I knew that it was built in a shady alleyway, and so it didn’t take us long to reach our destination. When we got into the nest, we were surprised to see that all the wasps were outside the nest, doing yoga. As quickly as possible, we snuck into the nest, to see all of our honey. There was a wasp guarding it, and he looked like he meant business. Without thinking, Bill ran into the wasp and punched him in the face. The wasp fought back, not wanting to let us in. The wasp tried to sting Bill in the head, but Bill ducked. Bang! The wasp hit Bill in the face. Bang! He punched again. Just when we thought that the wasp was going to kill Bill, suddenly, Bill stung the wasp in order to save us. Something you should know about us bees, is that when we sting something, it kills us. And so, Bill died. He sacrificed himself so that we could get the honey back. With the wasp guard dead, Bob and I got all the jars of honey. We flew back to our hive and we gave back all the honey. Everyone was partying and I even got knighted by the Queen bee herself. And as for the wasps, they never bothered us bees again.

Bang! Bang!&nbsp; The thunder crashed down like a meteor on the ground below as millions of multicoloured eye gazed upon a misty glass window. It was the greatest hour of every blissful little child’s life: 3:00pm. Who cared that the rain and thunder were beating down, they just wanted to get out.&nbsp; One ring. Two rings. Three.&nbsp; The bell signified that it was time to leave and before the tired, troubled, tough teacher could give the dreaded words of homework everyone was gone. Feeling ecstatic, I ran for the door as the rioting crowd followed destroying everything in its way. By the time I left the building, I was demolished by the mobbing rain above, I heard a friend call out to me, “Hey Oliver, do you want to walk with me? It is your first time!”&nbsp; As always, Henry was nervous about me. To give him confidence I shouted back, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Anyway, what’s the worst that can happen to me?” As I leave the flooded damp dirty school playground, I start to stroll along the middle of the town, taking the first corner around the depressing street. I began to wonder if I should try to get home quicker while shaking. My mouth was constantly going up and down as if I could not stop, but then I had to decide, should I go to my left in a dark dingy alleyway or right where the most people were going? My mind had gone as white as a page, my head started to shake but I needed to choose so I impulsively chose left. As I wandered left, my mind began to fill with thoughts again, I was meant to go right. What am I doing? Should I turn back? No. I can’t. People will think I’m immature and crazy. I will just find a new way, that can’t be hard. Can it?

It felt as if years passed while I walked through a never-ending maze. How did I forget? The stupidity flowed through my head whilst I walked through one dangerous place to the next, until I realised that I was never going to find my way back home now, unless I turned back. I took a seat by the grey pavement, giving myself up to the rain whilst I tried to memorise my past steps, but it was too late now. I had forgotten them. It was as if my memory was locked away from me to see. Tears filled my eyes as I thought there was going to be no way back; I laid on the floor and gave up. The worst moment of my life happened until I heard an amazing voice, “Oliver? Oliver, is that you?” It was Henry, he had come.&nbsp; “What are you doing here?” His confused voice made my heart jump.&nbsp; “Henry! Henry, you saved me. I have been lost for years please help me come home.” I was overwhelmed that he had come.&nbsp; “Sure, come with me.” We passed through many streets until I got home and now, I have learnt that the reason I had never walk home is because I wouldn’t have remembered.&nbsp; I have short term memory loss.

I’m alone. All I remember is my name. Everyone around me keep asking where I was, where are my parents, but no matter how hard I try I can’t remember anything but my name.&nbsp;&nbsp; “Charlotte Freya Dunn, it’s all I remember,” I slowly repeated. Dunn? Something about that doesn’t feel right. Maybe I’m just confused. Rest is what I need. Yes, a long sleep should help. Hopefully I remember something when I wake up.&nbsp;

The breeze tickled my face as I glided across the pavement, letting the bored take me wherever it likes. I like to do this to clear my head. It gives an immense sense of freedom, just me and the world, at peace. Specks of light from the towering apartment buildings and the street lights guiding my path. My head needs clearing more and more recently, I just wish I could refresh it, you know, start over. Every night I keep having dreams about this one place that I have no memory of seeing. Dim lighting drowns the room with an eerie and cold feeling, the only thing in it was a chair. Surrounding it are wires and machines, but more odd than that is in every dream this man is there with me. He has fair brown hair that goes down to his shoulders with pale blue eyes and a funny arm… I know what you’re thinking but trust me it’s worse. This man's arm seems to be metal, I don’t know how but it just is.&nbsp; Shock was the first thing I felt when it was announced to stay inside. Apparently, my apartment was close to a very hectic fight between the army and this assassin guy.

I’ve heard people say he is a myth. Every inch of me was urging me not to go near, but something deep down was telling me to go. It was only a few blocks away… The closer I got to the action the quicker my heartbeat went; it urged me to carry on going. The dull grey clouds blocked out any warmth, making me shiver. After a while I settled for an alley, hidden away in the shadow of houses and was startled with what I saw. All the soldiers had fallen, leaving no one alive, and that’s when I saw him. Shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes, and the metal arm. Something was off. It was as though I knew him? My vision began to blur as strange memories flooded my head. One by one, joyful, tragic, and horrifying memories filled my brain. The most horrific being the death of none other than my real parents. Yet, I still didn’t know why I felt like I knew the man standing before me. Then it hit me.&nbsp; The man standing before me was my brother. We had both been wiped of our past memories, no clue who we really were, and now it made sense. The sight of him must of jogged both of our minds out of this nightmarish haze. The nightmares. They must have been where we had our memories wiped from us. After a few moments, he gradually walked towards me, eyes full of fear, shock and joy and reached out his hand to help me up.&nbsp; “I’m Bucky Barnes,” he panted.&nbsp; “And I’m Charlotte Barnes,” I replied shakily.&nbsp; After seven years of being trapped in our own heads, we were finally free.&nbsp;

Without a sound River packed her bags, hoping to not get caught.&nbsp; “Okay, let me check if I have everything ready for my journey…yes, perfect!” &nbsp;She was running away because she wanted a new life with a new start. She quietly tiptoed downstairs, not to mention that it was midnight, so the adventure had to start off very carefully. River tripped over a step, landing with a thump. “Ow…stupid stairs,” she moaned. The floor creaked. “Oops,” she whispered.&nbsp; "Well this isn’t a great start," she thought to herself. Internally, the girl wondered…was this a good idea? Time passed; she took a step outside. Stars shone like glitter in the sky with the silver glistening moon in the distance. Towering trees danced in the warm breeze. It wasn’t beautiful, it was magical. The pitch-black sky covered the girl like a blanket and off she went, with something new about to happen… A few moments later, she appeared to be in the forest.&nbsp; “This isn’t where I was planning to be…” whispered River to herself. It’ll have to do for now, she thought. The rain showered over, her bringing a richness to everything surrounding River, the browns deepened in a way that soothed the girl’s heart, bringing a steadiness to her soul. The grass became glossy, reflecting the light, softly dancing in the breeze. This rain brings a freshness, each drop a gift for each part of the world. River raised her hand, tilted her face towards the sky, feeling water and sunshine together. As she did, a song stirred within, one that felt as if it meant “thank you" and "love" all at once. Perhaps this was joy, an enjoyment that felt pure.

She ran in the rain, closing her eyes knowing that this was how freedom felt. Away from all the stress, responsibilities and normal life. It was the morning, her parents opened River’s bedroom door only to discover she was gone. “Honey?” asked her mother. They were frozen in shock. What happened? The parents rang the police and before they knew it, someone was knocking at the door. Blue and red lights flashed. “Hello, we heard your daughter went missing,” stated the officer while forming a worried look. “Please tell us all the information about her.” “Her name is River Valerie, she is 15 years old and we suspect that she was murdered.” answered the mother.&nbsp; “Okay ma’am, the police will search for any evidence or clues to investigate this case,” responded the officer while taking notes. It seemed to be one of the most deliberate cases in the neighbourhood, especially with no trace of the missing girl. Days turned into months, until the police finally announced, “Your daughter sadly can’t be found and we are sorry to say that…she died. Was this truly the end? Little did anyone know she was living. Still alive. It was a miracle, not for her parents though. They thought she was lost forever.

Leaping into action, they went in. Gliding down, dodging all the beast shots, they finally got closer. Gabs was just about to the spray the perfume. The tentacles came out and wrapped around the dragon. As quickly as she could, Gabs threw the bottle at the creature. The snake turned pale, swelled up and became microscopic. The tentacles all fell to the ground letting go of the dragon. THEY HAD DONE IT! They freed their friends from the cage and went home.&nbsp; Two months later, they finally had the name for the dragon who saved their lives. ELECTRO.

Un-BEE-lievable Encounter With The Wasps

The children strolled through the meadow full of dazzling plants, beautiful birds and stunning trees. But there was one thing their parents had told them. NOT TO GO IN THE WOODS! No one has gone in there and come out alive. But that was all going to change today. The children had to get ready, so they headed home. Max’s mum said “Where are you going, mister?” Max said. “We’re going to camp in the meadow.” He ran like a velociraptor back to the meadow and that was when the adventure started!&nbsp;&nbsp; As they jogged through the misty, grey woods, they felt something following them, watching everything they did. The mist glared at them. They felt fear. They didn’t know what they had done. George spotted a giant shadow behind the colossal oak tree.&nbsp; The shadow was the size of two bears, and agile as a cheetah. The shadow crept out from behind the tree, getting very close. Sunlight shone down on it. It had scales as blue as sapphires. Its under belly was as dark as a black hole. Teeth the size of a megalodon’s and claws the size of a mouse. IT WAS A DRAGON! It had sparks flying off it. Then, it shot the ground trying to scare them off, but IT WAS TOO LATE! A dark claw grabbed Amelia. She was terrified; she tried to get the beast to let go, but it didn’t. SHE WAS GONE. A claw came back and grabbed George. He got his knife out and stabbed the claw. But when he thought he had got away, it captured him and took him where Amelia is. The claw came back and tried to get the two left but in the way was the dragon. It was protecting them! Max took Gabs’ hand and grabbed on to the dragon. The thunder dragon took off into the air. Suddenly, a ton of tentacles came out of the woods.&nbsp;

The thunder dragon tried to dodge the mysterious tentacles. It blasted the claws, but one sneaky claw grabbed Gabs, pulling her to the ground. Max pulled the dragon down and went after her. “Ahhhhhhhhhh!” screamed Gabs. She sprayed perfume at the beast. It was unhappy with it - it swelled up into a ball and went pale green. IT VANISHED INTO THIN AIR! Plummeting to the ground, she was petrified and thought it was the end. Max was anxious; what if he didn’t get to her in time? Max had an idea. He pulled a rope out of his backpack and wrapped it around the dragon and jumped. Then, a miracle happened.&nbsp;&nbsp;He caught Gabs and pulling her back on to the thunder dragon. They got high up, where the tentacles could not reach them. Secretly, they followed the tentacles back to the master, into a deep, mysterious, cloudy hole. Flapping its wings silently, the dragon went in.&nbsp;&nbsp; An hour later, they finally came to a stop. A room opened; it had massive spikes on the ceiling, lava falling from the walls into lava lakes, and in the centre, there was a titanic throne the size of three giraffes. Then Max saw the gargantuan shadow lurking in the back. It was getting closer; the thunder dragon was scared. It could sense danger. The shadow was as wide as three lorries and as tall as four giraffes. Max saw Amelia and George in a cage. They had to do something, so he and Gabs hopped on the dragon and rode into battle. As they were getting closer, they realised it was a giant snake. Without hesitating, they blasted multiple times. The snake opened its mouth and blasted out acid. Max knew if he got closer Gabs could spray her perfume at the beast.&nbsp;

Dedication and enthusiasm to writing The Fields of Rubble Freya Oliver The most impressive story The Way Home Joshua Carter Most imaginative story The Poet Poppy Edwards Most suspenseful story A Reunion Abigail Clark Most terrifying story Escape to a New Life Eva Turlo Most progress through the project Thunder Time Joshua Reynolds Most Original Perspective Un-BEE-lievable Encounter With The Wasps&nbsp; Sam Symons

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