WORM TALES
Yes, it happened, in the flick of an eye. One minute, I'm a human and the next, I have the pink, slim body of a worm.
It all happened last night, at the crime scene, when I was in my bed. I was restless, so I decided to go for a stroll to wear myself out. I walked literally everywhere, from the park, down to where the old graveyard was, but the only place I hadn't gone, was the forest.
The further I walked, the more I could feel the trees dragging me in.
I walked so far, that eventually, I didn't know where I was going. I stopped. I paused in caution and then I saw them, my greatest fear….WORMS!
It was a horrible sight!...
Excerpt by Alex Hall
I can see the shining beak just inches from my pin-sized head. Slowly, the jaws of this monster start to open. This is it, I thought. This is the day I die! -You are probably thinking, how did this happen? So, I'll take a moment to tell you, before I die.
Well, it was dark. So dark in fact, that if someone waved a hand in front of your face you wouldn't know. The forest surrounded me. I was starting to regret going out for a walk. I thought it would help get rid of my headache. And, it was, oh so dark.
I took a few more steps forward and then I stopped. I lent down and traced my hand along the smooth surface of earth. As it went along the ground I felt water. Little puddles at first, then deeper holes, filled to the brim with icy, cold water.
Curiosity won me over. It was a summer night. Humid and sticky. There's no harm in sticking my feet in the water for a second to cool down, I thought.
But then it happened. At first, slowly, but then, faster and faster until my whole body was submerged in the water, up to my shoulders. I twisted and shrunk. I turned and screamed with pain, until it was over. I was a worm!
…And then I slept.
And when I woke, all I could see was that shiny beak…. and in one gulp… I was gone!
By Tallulah McKenzie
I wake up. There is a strange smell around me and I feel wet. I open my eyes. I see black. I try to stand up and I feel a strange sensation. I have no legs!
I recognise the smell now. It's earth! I am in the soggy manure of a well-nourished vegetable patch. I wriggle up until I see it. -A carrot!- But it is as big as a two-storey house.
I wriggle further and find myself in a greenhouse. I see my reflection on a shattered piece of jar. I am a worm!
Before I can digest this, I am confronted by the hysterical giggling of children running towards me.
I quickly burrow back into the earth, but it is too late. A small, soap-smelling hand scoops me up and I hear a voice."He can live in my dollhouse!"...
Excerpt by Isabel Osborne
DREAM MAKER
I see a plastic nozzle, edge around the corner. Then it happens!
Tallulah pulls the trigger of the dream maker and I'm saturated in rainbows. Everything goes black and then I look in front of me.
Tallulah is laughing, and so is, another Tallulah and another Tallulah and another.
I feel dizzy and start to float up and away from the Earth....
Excerpt from Isabel Osborne