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Lies! Camera!
Action!
Written by- 404 NOT FOUND
From Bremer SHS
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Lies! Camera! Action!
Authors
Maylee Flannery
David Nebe
Brayden Sherwood
Katie Maxwell
Zoe Russell
IT Person
Jordan Mengel
Illustrators
Brooke Berrier
Jessie Yates
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Parameters
Primary Characters
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Shop Keeper
Shoemaker
Non-Human Characters
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Sausage Dog
Setting
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Movie Theatre
Issue
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Terrorist Attack
Random words
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Hectic
Fascinating
Cantankerous
Furry
Curious
Copyright © 2014 by Bremer Writers Club (Team 404-Not Found)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or
mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case
of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses
permitted by copyright law.
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Dear Readers,
The Writer’s Club at Bremer State High School would like to wish you and your family
all the best to whatever is coming your way- we want you to know to be strong and
believe that anything is possible! Hopefully our story is good enough in your eyes to
give you something to hold onto… just remember you are not alone.
And before you read the appending story we would like to leave you with these words.
“If you can dream it, you can do it” ~ Walt Disney
The Bremer Writers club
Acknowledgements
Firstly, The Bremer Writer’s club would like to thank everyone who supported us through all the bumps
on the road. We couldn’t have done any of this without our Teachers- Mrs Sinclair and Mrs Goldthorpe
who set this up. On behalf of the writer’s club, I would like to send thanks to the ‘Write a Book in a Day’
charity for setting up this competition, I’m sure the children and hospitals really appreciates it as much as
all the participants. Our Writers club would like to thank Mrs See and Mrs Scott who also supported our
journey into making this children’s book. We hope that our book (and the other books from other
participants) makes at least one child smile- that’s all we want.
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Contents
Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 3
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Chapter 4
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Chapter 5
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Chapter 6
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Chapter 7
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Chapter 8
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Chapter 9
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Chapter 10
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Chapter
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Chapter One- Intruder
The town was hectic, Canterock was preparing for ‘The Spy Game.’ The biggest movie
premiere the town had ever seen. Four scenes had been filmed in Canterock, showcasing the
general store, practically everyone in town had been extras. Amelia Hartwood the young
DVD attendant at the Movie Haven complex had the massive job of setting up the cinema for
285 guests, wearing her typical dark wash jeans, paired with a black tank top her hairs a mess
from hours of setting up. Her typical day of standing around selling DVDs was turned upside
down when the theatre decided to premier the new movie. Constable Ryan from Canterock
Police was rostered a double shift to help carry the chairs.
“Where do you want this lot, love?” He asks carrying a stack of plastic chairs borrowed from
the school house down the cinema aisle. Amelia turns and flashes him a shy smile,
“up the front beside the fire exit please Ryan, How was your sisters birthday party?” she asks
helping him set the chairs out in tight rows.
“Not too bad, you know how she is,” He grumbles from the semi darkness, “I wanted a hot
pink cake this is baby pink, these aren’t the right shoes, god you’ve ruined everything.” He
mimics his 14 year old sister’s voice.
“Oh she’s not that bad, I’m sure your mum did a great job.” Amelia replies laughing.
“Canterock 019 this is Canterock base come in,” Constable Ryan’s radio crackles at them
interrupting.
“Canterock base this is 019 proceed.” He replies into the radio on his shoulder, “019 we have
an arrest and detain happening on main outside Old Claire’s General Store, 874 requests
assistance.”
“Copy that base.” He replies turning and walking towards the exit, Amelia follows shortly
behind, struggling to keep up with his long strides. The bright sunlight stinging their eyes as
they exit the complex, Claire’s General Store is a brick two storey owned by Claire Gardner
four buildings down from Movie Haven, one of the town’s two white and blue police cars
parked haphazardly on the tar road out the front. Lights flashing as Senior Constable Robert
Newfarm wrestles with a man. The arrestee is dressed head to toe in black, his hair covered
by a beanie, the face unfamiliar to the townsfolk gathered around in a circle watching on,
Amelia approaches Claire the store’s owner while Ryan charges towards the fight.
“What’s happened Claire? Are you okay?” She asks worry etched into her voice. “Oh yes,
yes Amelia dear, I am quite alright, he came in to buy some duct tape and he dropped his
wallet the goose. And then I noticed the gun in the back of his jeans, so I called Mary at the
police station and she sent Robbie over.” She soothes as the guys get the cuffs on the gun
man and walk him to the police car. Ryan approaches Amelia and Claire while Robert starts
the engine.
“I’m sorry Amelia I have to go but I’ll be back round later today to finish helping,” he
apologises quietly.
“Oh Ryan take your time, we still have a few days to prepare.” Amelia replies before Ryan
leaves. Megan the town dress maker crosses the road towards Amelia and Claire, her bright
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red hair standing out from a mile away, the pink dress makes her look like a marshmallow.
“Oh isn’t it fascinating to watch Ryan work he’s so brave just jumping forward into a
scuffle.” Megan gushes as Old Claire rolls her eyes towards Amelia.
“Yes Megan, he’s wonderful, now if you’ll excuse me I have a lot of work to do.” Amelia
says before heading back to her little store adjoining the cinema. Sam has just walked in,
“Good morning Amelia.”
“Hello Sam, I have a new series for you. Just came in last night.” Amelia says, standing up
straighter, she collects a blank cased DVD from inside the back room safe, while Sam
wanders through the store.
“Why thank you Amelia,” taking the DVD and leaving.
Meanwhile Ryan and Robert have just arrived back at base. Mary opens the door while they
lead the perpetrator into the station, the cell is ready and waiting. Ryan pats him down, Mary
bags his possessions while Robert starts the paper work,
“should we call Sergeant O’Connor?” Robert enquires, Mary shakes her head,
“It’s his weekend off he’s out at the lake, left last night with the mrs.”
Ryan comes back into the office leaving the cells unattended.
“Our man’s name is Keith Carter, he’s 34, three minor traffic violations in Adelaide 15 years
ago and then nothing until 2 years ago when he was arrested for possession of a dangerous
weapon in Perth.” Ryan reads off the data scanner.
“Any gun license?” Mary asks,
“Nope, but get this his brother Adam is on the no fly list and is wanted for questioning,
thought to be a part of the terrorist group deception.” Ryan announces, scrolling through
Keith’s history.
“I think it’s time to question Keith.” Robert says,
“Mary set up the interview room please, Ryan you can head back to Amelia if you’d like.”
Robert smiles winking at Ryan,
“Okay will do,” he replies, face reddening at his senior officers teasing.
Ryan leaves walking down Main Street towards the cinema. Robert heads into the cell area,
Wurst the town’s unfriendly sausage dog is sitting at the bars allowing Keith to pat him.
“Wurst, get out of here.” Robert says walking towards the cell, Robert walks over to him and
picks him up, Wurst snaps at his hands, forcing Robert to take a step back. He runs from the
room towards the exit, his little legs carrying the fat body through the back door into the
parking lot.
“What the hell was that about?” Robert demands from Keith.
“No comment,” Keith replies throwing a cool look Roberts’s way. It’s 4 o’clock an hour til
his shift ends,
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“if you’re not going to talk, perhaps you can have an overnight stay to loosen your tongue?”
Robert replies curtly, walking from the room.
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Chapter Two- Break Away
Keith groans as he sits quietly in his cell, giving a sigh of frustration. He shouldn’t be in here;
he has a job to do as always and he has been in here for quite some time already though the
dog made some nice company. He was sure one of his comrades would come for him sooner
or later however, so he waits patiently, not bothering to annoy his only observer as that would
just make it harder to escape. If no one did come he would find a way to pick the lock. Ryan
looked tired, his eyes closing slowly, it’s just before midnight and soon enough, Ryan fells
quietly asleep. Around 1 am, the sound of footsteps echo through the cells, a figure enters the
dark room, “Keith?”
“Get the keys, behind the desk,” the captive whispers to the other, quickly and being sure to
not nudge Ryan, He grabs the keys from the desk, makes his way over to Keith and unlocks
the door, sliding it open as quietly as possible. Keith nodded his thanks to Drezz recognisable
by his thick black dreadlocks running down his back. They make their way towards the exit,
Keith looks at Ryan sleeping, an obvious question in his eyes.
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“Leave him be,” Drezz whispers, “We don’t want them finding out about us yet. Don’t want
them to get suspicious.” Keith nods his understanding and they once again begin making their
way to the exit. “Come, we have to head back to the camp for now. Be quick but don’t make
too much noise. Everyone may be asleep right now but there could be any number of light
sleepers here,” Drezz warned him, receiving a nod in reply. They then began walking quickly
in the direction of their camp, remaining crouched to reduce what noise they made.
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Chapter Three- Day to day
Amelia woke up the next morning, yawning and stretching to ease her cramped muscles. She
got up after a few minutes and headed to the bathroom, the first thing she does being brush
her hair. It always got messy while she slept and brushing it so that it was neat again was a
pain every morning.
“Ouch,” she muttered to herself after brushing out large knot in her hair. Sometimes she
hated having such long hair though really only when she had to brush it as it tended not to
cooperate. When this was done she finished getting ready for work then headed out the door
and walking to her little DVD store. She unlocked the door and walked in, smiling to herself
as she does so. Contrary to her usual job, she didn’t mind running this little shop. She got to
meet and chat to some pretty nice people and make new friends, and everyone in this town
was friendly and open. They also knew most of each other by name since it were such a close
knit community. It only took an hour before her first customers started coming through.
Business wasn’t exactly thriving but it was enough for anyone to get through life comfortably.
Amelia didn’t need it of course but it was a nice cover.
“Just this one ma’am?” she asked a middle aged lady while scanning the case. She received a
nod in acknowledgement and Amelia smiled, receiving the payment.
“Have a good day,” she farewelled the other with a smile and a wave. The lady herself
however seemed distant and unwilling to stay for too long.
“Just as well,” she sighed quietly, realising again that she is alone and can’t trust anybody.
She shrugged the thought away and looked out the window and scanned around; noticing that
the movie premiere was only four days away. Her mind began wandering off, curious about
what she might find in this quiet little town. She would have to wait till tomorrow though and
possibly the day after. Yep, she decided that tomorrow she would do some quick searching
and, if anything was found, some more in-depth and thorough searching the day after. Now
that she had a plan, and the knowledge that her next two days wouldn’t be bland, she perked
up and seemed a bit livelier. After all, what’s the point of transferring information if there’s
no information to transfer? She glances over at the door when she hears the little bell ring and
smiles a greeting at Mary, a young teenager, just running in to pick up a movie for her parents
out in the car. She spends a few minutes going to get it then returns.
“Just this one thanks,” she states as she approached Amelia, smiling softly.
“Of course Mary,” she giggles gently and nods at her, taking the DVD, scanning it and taking
the money and giving her change. “Have a good day now.”
“I will Amelia,” she replies before bidding farewell and leaving.
The next few hours were relatively uneventful for Amelia with only the odd customer or two
coming in to either hire a DVD or return one. She sighs with relief when the day was over
and she began to clean up. After this she headed out the front, door, locked it and went home.
Since she only livs around the corner it didn’t take her long. She quickly changed out of her
uniform then began cooking dinner, just a simple one of steak and veggies. When she
finished eating this she got dressed into her nightgown and went to bed.
She awoke the next morning and lay there, staring at the roof for some moments, thinking
about how, when and where she is going to start her searching for some information or clues.
After about 15 minutes of pondering she got up and showered before getting dressed then ate
breakfast and once again left to go work. She walks along the street, waving to other people
and greeting them, including Mary whom she saw walking to school. It was a Friday; the
movie premiere on Sunday so that working parents could attend as well. She opens the store
and proceeds to continue her day job however, this time she is a bit more perked and smiles
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more since she had something to look forward to do. The thing that she was trained to do ever
since she joined the Australian Spy Agency. She found herself getting excited and had to
pace around to relieve some of the pent up energy. She spends the rest of the day doing the
same thing as usual though she had a bit more business then what she usually did however
she paid little attention to it. All she could think about is what she would do a few hours. She
hears her phone’s alarm go off, signalling closing time, and began closing up. She then leaves
towards her home to prepare for the night ahead.
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Chapter Four- Eureka!
Amelia is ready and prepared, clad in black, long sleeved clothing and long black pants that
are also tight so as not to get caught on anything and tear. She waited until midnight, when
most people would be asleep. She didn’t bother questioning anyone as an unsettling
atmosphere has been making its descent over the past few days, making people more
avoidant and untrustworthy. The first thing she is to do is look around the town, to try and
find anybody of interest or any places of interest. She makes her way past the DVD store and
movie theatre, wandering the streets and keeping to the shadows. She made little noise but it
soon became obvious that there was nothing of interest in the town and she was losing time.
She decides to have a look around the outskirts of the town and makes her way along the
main road now. She reaches the outskirts in only a few minutes and has a walk around it. It is
pretty dark but not as dark as it could be as it is a full moon, whose beams are lighting the
area pretty well. She needs to find higher ground and get a better view of the town and its
surroundings. She glances around and spots a hill not too far away and makes her way over to
it quickly. She looks back at the town after starts climbing it, much happier with the view she
currently has. She continues walking backwards up the hill, watching the sleepy little town
and stops when she reaches the top, sitting down and leaning against a tree. This was a nice
little spot, peaceful and the view at night with the full moon in the background was great. She
sits there for a few more moments sighing contently before standing. “hmm…” she mumbled
quietly before turning around. She didn’t know what compelled her to turn, but she did and
her eyes widened.
Sitting right before her eyes, quiet and with only the bare minimum number of lights on was a
camp. Not just any camp, she had a gut feeling that it belonged to Deception, not knowing
what told her that it is so. She slowly made her way down the hill but dawn was fast
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approaching and it was clear that there was too much activity going on the get a better look at
the camp. She remains there, crouched, curious about what information could be found there
but quickly begins to retreat back up and over the hill. “Don’t worry Deception, I will get into
your camp and find out what you want hidden.” She mumbles quietly to herself as she makes
her way back to her house to get some much needed sleep. It was alright for her to sleep in as
well as her DVD shop is closed on Saturdays. She sighs deeply when she gets inside and
collapses on her bed, falling asleep almost immediately
The next night she is in her dark clothing again and is back up on the hill, this time a little
before 11. She knows there will be centuries but since the moon is behind clouds there is
almost no light that will make it easier for her to be seen. She silently makes her way down
the hill staying with the shadows. Now that she is closer she can make out four towers on
each corner of the 2.5 metre stone walls. She guesses there were sentries on the towers but
knows they won’t be able to see her until the moon comes out from behind the clouds. She is
against the wall now and can see that it is chipped in places with some holes and cracks
which would make it easier to scale. She scales it carefully now after hearing no footsteps on
the other side but still peeks over carefully to make certain. After deciding that it was safe to
do so, she kicks her legs over the wall and drops down onto the ground. She quickly makes
her way behind a tent, listening quietly. The camp itself was quite unpopulated right now so
she made her way around and into the tent. It looked like sleeping quarters of some kind and,
after seeing a few sleeping men, quickly and quietly made her way out. She looked around
for a tent that stood out more and found it quickly. It was noticeably larger than the others so
she slowly made her way over, keeping to the ground and going around the long way instead
of cutting across the courtyard. She made her way inside now, the tent being empty of people.
She stood for a few minutes, catching her breath and letting her body calm down before
searching around, being careful not to move anything. The first thing in the tent that grabbed
her attention was a large map on the back wall labelled ‘Canterock’ and she moved over to it
now, looking over the details and landmarks. “What do we have here?” she asked herself,
taking a few pictures of it then looking at the sprawled papers on the desk. She scanned over
a few of them, seeing a few key words such as ‘theatre’ and ‘Deception.’
“I knew it was you,” she said quietly to herself, picking some of them up and stuffing them in
her small bag. She looked outside and noticed the first few rays as the sun came dangerously
close to coming over the horizon. “Time to go,” she stated then made her way out of the tent
and slowly back to the area where she originally scaled into the camp. She found it was a
worthwhile trip and that her searching turned up some possibly fascinating information. She
scaled back over the wall and disappeared over the other side into the dissipating darkness
ahead
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Chapter Five- Accusations
The golden light of the sun was just peeking past the horizon when Amelia turned her back
on the camp to return to town. The people of Canterock would be waking, oblivious to the
danger hidden so close to home. Dust and dirt coated her jeans and shoes, growing thicker as
her tired feet kicked the ground. If the town was unaware of her night time activities before,
then today they were going to have a shocking realisation. As she crested the hill that
concealed the terrorist’s camp, the town, slowly gaining the casual buzz of life, came into
view.
The warmth of the morning was already kicking in as waves of heat blurred the buildings
ahead. A bead of sweat ran down her creased brow as she strode on. Thoughts were tumbling
about in her mind. Who were these people? What was their connection to town? What were
their motives? Worse still, how was she to convince the police of the situation? Almost no
one knew her real occupation and with only a few suspects located, was it worth exposing her
identity? So many questions, and as she entered the main street, Amy feared that time was
running out.
Eager to protect the town and to prevent the terrorists from succeeding in their unknown plan,
Amy made a beeline to the police station. To her surprise Ryan and Rob were waiting outside
the station, and, upon spotting her, rose to meet her. Though she met their actions with a
smile, their expressions sent a wave of uneasiness through her. Something wasn’t right. Ryan
didn’t call out to her or smile and Rob didn’t greet her with a chipper ‘good morning’. No,
there was no warmth in his voice when he spoke.
“Amelia.”
“Morning Rob, is everything all right?”
“We would like to ask you a few questions,” Ryan said, an unusual tone in his voice.
“What’s going on?”
“We can talk inside the station. This doesn’t have to be difficult.”
No one moved or spoke, waiting for Amelia to make her move. The officers were on edge,
shifting their weight and twitching whenever she breathed.
“Are you su-“ she began, caught off guard by the unfriendly encounter.
“Amelia, I’m sorry.”
Disappointment flushed over their faces. The officers slowly crossed the distance separating
them from her. With one hand firmly clasped around her arm, Constable Ryan fastened
handcuffs around her wrists whilst Senior Constable Ryan read out her rights. Down the
street, residents of Canterock watched in astonishment as was led into the station, cut off
from the town by the door closing shut.
“What are you doing?” Amelia cried as they sat her down in the interrogation room.
“We’ll be asking the questions here, Miss Hartwood.” Ryan leant against the door and Rob
positioned himself in front of Amy. With his hands pressed against the wooden table, he
began his interrogation.
“We have reports that over the past two nights you have been leaving your home and
wandering around town. Several witness claimed that you snuck out of town and returned
early in the morning as you have this morning, dirty and exhausted. You understand that
given the recent events this behaviour is highly suspicious and we have every reason to
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suspect you of being involved with the criminals that escaped. You’ve been with this town
for three years now and have been recognised as a respected member of this community.
Explain yourself!”
“I’m not a criminal. I’ve been investigating the incident and two nights ago I stumbled upon
an encampment. Look you have to listen to me, this town is in danger.” She protested,
annoyed but understanding their ignorance.
“Investigating? That’s ridiculous. You’re a shopkeeper not a police officer and if you had
information you should’ve come straight to us, not played detective.”
“I am telling the truth. I’m an agent of the A.S.A. I was sent here three years ago to
investigate information regarding a terrorist organisation here in Canterock. I disguised
myself as a shop owner so I could identify anyone who is possibly involved in the
organisation. We don’t know who is targeting the A.S.A, but we have a list of possible
groups.”
Rob scoffed, “The A.S.A, I’ve never heard of it. Don’t go claiming unsound mind, we know
you’re sane. Tell us what you know and we might be able to get you a lighter sentence. We
are trying to help you.”
“I am not insane. You have to believe me, people are in trouble. I found blueprints for the
theatre, they could attack it tonight.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Hartwood, but if you don’t answer my questions I can’t help you. Ryan, take
her to a holding cell, make sure no one escapes this time.”
Roughly Ryan pulled Amelia up and pushed her forward, following Rob out of the room.
Protesting any more was only going to make the situation worse, so Amy obeyed the orders
and allowed herself to be taken to a cell. Before she was locked in, Ryan removed the cuffs
from her hands giving her a quick smile. He shut and locked the door as he turned away, and
grabbing a chair, Ryan positioned himself outside, facing her, although he could not meet her
gaze. The mood was tense as neither addressed the issue. However, it was clear that Ryan
desperately wanted to believe her story. Caught in his thoughts he would sigh or shake his
head every now and again, as he judged Amelia’s character. In her cell, Amy paced around
the small room, looking out the window every now and again to see what he had determined.
Innocent or guilty, her fate seemed undecided. Every minute that passed drew the town closer
to disaster.
Outside the station, news of Amelia’s arrest had faded into obscurity as the people prepared
for the premiere of “Spy Game”. The day had passed rapidly, and as the cool air of the night
drifted over Canterock and relaxed another hard-working day, the town was aflutter with talk
of the movie. Almost the entire town had gathered outside the theatre, even Senior Constable
Robert had abandoned his regular post in the station to enjoy the rare occasion. The theatre
was grand; all lit up and cleaned to perfection. Like Amy Hartwood, they all counted down,
but when they hit zero the doors opened wide and beckoned the people inside. When the last
person was seated and chatter had finally ceased, the lights were turned down and the movie
began. Then Amy’s count hit zero, and everything stopped. The theatre, the station, the stores
and homes all went dark. At the theatre the doors opened once more, but this time it was not
welcomed.
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Chapter Six- On the Clock
“What happened?” In the dark, voices were all they had.
“Blackout. It was part of their plans. First a blackout and then they move to target the theatre.
I told you they were in danger.” Amy explained- her voice even and cold. She couldn’t be too
late, there was still time to prove her innocence and save some lives. “Do you believe me
now?”
Silence.
Her heart pounded in her chest, she needed to move as soon as possible. After what felt like
an eternity, she heard sound. On the door to her cell she heard scratching. Her breath grew
still and she waited and listened. The noise soon stopped and was replaced by a key turning in
the lock. As the door was thrown open, a bright light stung her eyes.
“I’ll give you one chance to show me your evidence. I want to believe you, I really do Amy.”
She smiled as Ryan slipped a flashlight into her hands and lowered his beam.
As her eyes adjusted, a small creature jumped about her feet. Turning on her light, she saw a
brown, furry dog dart past the beam.
“Wurst! What on earth is he doing here?” Amy exclaimed.
“He was in the lobby when I went to get the lights.” It was strange for the chubby sausage
dog to be wandering about so late at night, especially with everyone at the theatre. Conscious
that time was running out, she led Ryan outside, with Wurst bounding behind them.
“You said there was a camp nearby?” Ryan asked. He didn’t seem to understand the pressure
on time that the town was under, but if Amy didn’t prove her innocence, she wouldn’t be able
to help the town at all.
“I doubt it’s moved since I was there. They couldn’t know that I have its location and
besides, it’s a bit large to move in one day.”
Breaking into a run, Amy led her little party of three down the street and over the hill to the
hideout.
The stone towers loomed above, dimly lit by work lights within the walls. Crouching low, the
pair advanced towards the hideout. Wurst yapped quietly, running around their legs, his
bowler hat occasionally bumping into their knees. As reached the walls, they froze as the
murmur of voices filled them with alarm. The terrorists were supposed to be at the theatre
according to their plans. They couldn’t have completed their plans so quickly, there still had
to be time. In front of the light from Ryan’s flashlight, Amy signalled to follow her around
the wall to the entrance. As they started to move, Wurst yelped. Immediately, the voices
ceased and Amy turned on her heels to quieten the dog. Wurst’s vest was caught on a branch
and as he rolled about his yelps increased.
Pulling him free, they ran to the entrance, no longer needing to rely on stealth. The
encampment was unchanged, with the chain fences open and askew. The main difference was
the three inhabitants. Keith and Drezz, still clothed in black, stood with guns pointed at Amy
and Ryan. Behind the two crooks, a young girl with dark skin and frizzy black hair, no older
than ten, sat with tears in her eyes. Beneath the moon, the standoff began. No one moved and
no one spoke.
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As the seconds passed, first a whimper, then a sob pierced the silence.
“Shut up! Stop crying and behave, girl!” bellowed Keith. In a single moment, the terrorists
moved their eyes and guns from the intruders to the girl. Taking the opportunity, Ryan
removed his gun from its holster raising it at Drezz and Amelia advanced at Keith.
“I said quiet!” Keith screamed and whipped the butt of his gun into the child’s head. Her
body went limp and fell to the ground just as Amy reached them.
“How about you shut up for once?” she snarled as she sent her fist into his jaw. Swinging her
leg around, she knocked out his legs and flipped him onto his back. Drezz moved to raise his
gun to her head as she pinned his partner to the ground. A shot fired into the night, and Drezz
dropped clutching his knee.
“You two are under arrest, and this time you won’t be escaping,” Ryan said, running over to
the group.
By the time he had handcuffed Drezz, Amy had tied up Keith’s hands and had hauled him up
to start moving.
“I’ll handle these two you take care of the girl.” Ryan nodded to the child, unconscious with
her tear stained face to the sky. Amy knocked the criminal back to the ground and
approached the girl as Wurst bounded up, his tail wagging furiously. He excitedly licked the
girl’s face and sniffed her arm, occasionally pawing or yapping at her. The behaviour struck
Amy as peculiar, because although Wurst was friendly with almost everyone in town, he took
some time to get used to new people. Carefully, she picked up the girl and with Wurst, Ryan,
and the crooks trailing behind, left the stone walls behind.
The moon had risen high in the sky by the time the group arrived at the station. The hands of
the terrorists were kept bound, as Ryan threw them into separate cells. On the couch in the
lobby of the station, Amy rested the girl down. As she turned to leave, Ryan called out to her.
“What are you going to do?”
“I have a terrorist attack to stop and you are needed here. We need to know who this girl is
when she wakes up and those two can’t break out again. You’ve got to make sure that
nothing else happens that will make this harder for me.”
“I’m glad you aren’t a criminal. To be honest, you’re story is still a little farfetched, but I
believe you.”
“Thank y-” As Amy spoke, a little whine stopped her. Wurst, happy as ever, was bounding
back and forth between Amy and the door. “Where are you headed? Do you have something
to show me?” Wurst barked and sat at the door, waiting patiently. Curious, she followed him
as he led her out of the police station and down the main street.
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Chapter Seven- And Action
Amelia stalked quietly along her storefront, eyes darting to and from the street and the
shadowy figure within her store. She heard mumbling from with as she quietly opened the
door, again picking a lock.
Quietly thanking everything happy and pure that she'd removed the annoying bell, Amelia
crept in and listened intently for the muttering terrorist lurking within the isles.
“Spy Kids 3, Rats of Nimh, Higgledy Piggledyville... who comes up with this junk?” the man
said from the behind the third isle. He was obviously in the kids section, and Amelia started
when he read the last title, for that was where the secret information was hidden.
She crept along to the first, then the second, stopping only to check for traps, or others hiding
within the store. Thankfully there was none, just the small mumble.
Stopping at the end of two, directly behind the mumbling man, she took a deep breathe, and
readied herself to disable the guy. Unfortunately highly painful for the guy, but oh well.
Amelia stepped up and rounded the corner, only to stop with Dirk standing there. He hadn't
noticed her yet, so she could of slipped around. Instead she wrapped an arm around his throat
in a sleeper hold and threw him to the ground.
“What the heck are you doing?!” she hissed, crouching down beside him.
Dirk coughed a little and tried to get up. Amy pushed him back down, glaring.
“Jeez, a little soften on the neck grabbing. Why'd they let you out of the slammer?” he asked,
eyes searching the shadows. No one seemed to pop out, and Amelia was still giving him the
evil eye. Dirk cleared his throat nervously, and looked away from the glaring figure in front
of him.
“I broke out when the town went black, dummy. Why are you here? What are you doing in
the kids section, of all places to be?”
“Reliving my childhood. What's it to you?” he deflected, trying to change subject. The spy
rolled her eyes at the feeble attempt, and got up.
“Don't change the subject. Now, how'd the terrorists not get you?” Dirk shrugged.
“Guess they didn't expect a grown man to hide in the kiddy corner?”
Amelia put a boot on his knee, applying a gentle pressure. Enough to make him winch.
“Straight answer. Now. I've got Ryan and some little girl the guys had prisoner or something
hiding out. So if you're townsfolk, I'll take you there. If you're a terrorist, I'll knock you out.
Fair enough?” she smiled a little, hoping to inspire confidence. Dirk looked dumbfounded.
“Li-little Caitlyn? You found Caitlyn?” he asked after a while.
“I guess? She's about 8yrs old?” Amelia shrugged as Dirk nodded.
“She's okay right?” he hesitantly asked. The spy grunted a yes, and Dirk smiled happily.
“Yeah, besides the lack of consciousness, she's peachy. Now, what were you doing in my
store?” she asked again, removing the boot. Dirk's face fell.
“They made me do it. They made me watch the town. They took her away from me, and they
made me rat out on the town.” he began. Amelia nodded, helping the man up.
“That’s okay. It’s your family, and that'll mean everything to anyone.” Dirk looked shocked.
“C'mon, she's-”
“Who's where?” came Keith's voice from behind them.
23
Chapter Eight- Plots and Dirty Socks
Drezz snickered from the cashier, enjoying a Snicker's bar from the fridge. Both he and Keith
held automatic weapons in their hands. Another pair of terrorists were at the front of the DVD
store, beaming maliciously with silenced pistols. Amelia stared at the group, straightening up.
“Well, this is a predicament.” she readied a fighting stance. “Who's first?”
All the terrorists chuckled, till she jumped forward and gave Keith a bloody nose with her
forehead. The burly man stumbled backwards and tripped over a kiddy's stool. His gun fell
from his grasp, landing near Dirk. Drezz went to aim until his buddy bumped into him.
The other two had no such problems, instead aiming their pistols at the spy. Amelia ducked
under the counter as the air was riddled with bullets, none of which was large enough to
penetrate the firm wooden furniture. Drezz was still able to see, but Dirk pushed him into the
ground as Keith was still sneezing up blood. Both Dirk and Drezz wrestled on the ground
while Amelia calmly waited for the guys by the storefront to run out of ammo. Both were
obviously rookies, just trying to mow her cover down with weak pistols. The spy noticed the
fridge door partially ajar and reached to close it. She knew the ice cream would be wanted
later. Finally the pair of terrorists ran out of ammunition, and Amelia leapt over the counter
and sprinted at them.
The first one fumbled with his clip and got a elbow to the chin, snapping his head back. The
spy whipped his legs out from under him and down the lumbering grunt fell. He whacked his
head on the same stool Keith had tripped over, and was unconscious before you could say
'pineapple fritter'.
The second guy had the sense to draw out his buzz baton, a nasty piece of weaponry designed
to stun opponents. Amelia stepped back as he lunged, fencer style, at her. Another swipe,
another step. Amelia kicked at him, back retreated with a yelp his he made a grab for her leg.
And then Keith kicked her in the gut.
Falling to her knees and coughing the guy with the buzz baton came in and began to jab, until
a cashier was bashed over his head. Keith turned to face Dirk, but Amelia grabbed the buzz
baton and hit him with the lowest setting. The smell of smoky hair filled the room and both
Amelia and Dirk wrinkled their noses.
“He was a messy sod.” Dirk commented, standing there awkwardly.
“Yeah, he must of known how to make a party hectic.” she turned to him. “We need a way to
get them out of that cinema and out here so I can pick them off. It's our best plan right now.”
She quietly checked that the movie Higgledy Piggledyville and the message inside was intact.
Thankfully it was, and the messenger was due in about an hour. She checked the rest of her
wares, and noted which were just wrecked, and which were still able to be fixed. Being a spy
had benefits, but sometimes having a store or something else interesting wrecked because of
a bunch of dim-wits with guns was a little tiring.
“Yeah, this is going to have to work.” she stated, examining the DVDs. Dirk looked back at
her hurriedly, and frowned.
“But how are we going to take down 26 odd terrorists. Armed terrorists.” he added, turning
his head around the store, as if one of the guys they'd knocked out would suddenly spring
back up. Amelia sighed and stepped over to the counter and retrieved a long roll of rope, and
placed it on the bullet ridden counter. She then proceeded to drag all three of the other
criminals to the unconscious Keith, who had stopped bleeding, and then tied the bunch of
them up, and used wet cloths she had lying about to gag them.
“There. No need for you to get your hands dirty now Dirk.” she commented sassily, smiling
at how Dirk embarrassed for not helping her. Not that see needed it.
24
Chapter Nine- Blood and Iron
Amelia sighed wearily, and examined the most recent of her unconscious victims. Dirk was
standing on the other side of the store at the front window, wringing his hands nervously in
the pale light of the moon. She hissed for his attention and he returned to help her bind their
hands and move the bodies to the store’s back room. She had been in this situation many
times in her life but since taking the cushy job in the country she had thought she’d escaped
it. She couldn’t deny that there wasn’t some small part of her that enjoyed it anyway, there
always would be. “As fun as this has been Dirk, I don’t think sitting here and picking off
some every now and then is such a great plan.”
Dirk groaned and nodded “I know but I can’t really see what else we can do. We can’t just
waltz into that place! Those people are armed to the teeth.” Amelia could tell that Dirk
wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his daughter but she needed him here, she
couldn’t go at this alone.
“I mean it’s not IDEAL but I’ve got to do something! I’ve done it before, it’ll be fine!”
Amelia tried to be as convincing as possible even when she herself didn’t believe it. She
slowly made her way to her desk and pulled out her pistol from the bottom draw. She hadn’t
touched this thing in years. “All I need from you Dirk is to get as many of them as you can to
look for me out the front, Can you do that?”
25
“Of course Amelia, I just- I just wanted to thank you first” Dirk approached Amelia behind
the counter.
“There’s nothing to thank me for Dirk” Amelia replied but was cut off before she could say
more.
“There is everything to thank you for! You found my daughter, you brought her home. My
family is safe because of you!” In a moment of uncharacteristic gratitude Dirk had pulled
Amelia into a tight hug and begun whispering further thanks.
Amelia was bewildered that the man around her could be the same cantankerous grouch she
had known for her three years in Canterock. The same man she had (more than once) seen
yelling at children in front of his store. She returned his hug with equal emotion and
whispered “stay safe” before parting and leaving out the back without a second glance.
The air in Canterock was different that night; it was unseasonably cold and stung her face as
she snuck through the alleyways. The normal smell of dirt, sweat and flour had been replaced
by the putrid stench of iron, steel and fear. Luckily the back of the theatre was empty and the
back door was unattended. She drew her gun and ran to the doorway, slowly pulling it open
and examining the room. Of course that was futile because the inside of the cinema was pitch
black save for distant torch light from the foyer. She slowly navigated her way through
storage boxes and cleaning equipment, making sure not to alert the guards of her approach.
Once she reached the foyer door she could recognize the distinct crying of Mrs Voyance from
nearby and the loud gruff orders coming from the deception members. Despite what her
training had told her and what most people would say, she knew from experience that the best
way to handle these situations was loudly and quickly. It had worked in war, it had worked
against international enemies and it would work this time.
“3, 2, 1” she slowly counted, steadying her breath and steeling her nerves before barging into
the room. What happened next was frantic, chaotic and took place in only a few seconds.
Firstly, every eye in the room fell onto her, followed by the sights of their guns. Taking this
opportunity, the police officers that had previously been held at gunpoint, jumped to their feet
and pulled their attackers down. All eyes were once again on them and Amelia took the
chance to knock out the closest guard by knocking him square in the face with the butt of her
gun. That was not her best move because the guards proceeded to fire on her, bombarding the
air around her with iron. Each one howled past her skin as she dove behind the Cinema’s
counter beside two cowering hostages.
From the corner of her eye she could see that the cops had used the men they’d fought as
human shields and were much safer than she was at the moment. Two more of the terrorists
were converging upon the counter and she had nowhere left to run.
“Amelia Hartwood, Come out and have a chat with us darling. You can end all of this right
now.”
Amelia shuddered behind the counter; she had suspected they were here for her but she’d still
been hoping it wasn’t true.
“Come on Amelia, don’t you want to see your friend again?” one of the terrorists called out,
followed by Sam’s crying.
26
It was too much to hear her friend like that and she jumped from behind the counter, gun
aimed on the man who was overpowering a struggling Sam. “Let them go you monster!”
“I’ll let them go when you hand yourself over!”
Amelia sighed, and dropped her gun to the ground “You’ll let Sam go, you’ll let all of these
people go!”
“Of course” the man replied as another took the gun from her feet.
As she approached the group of men, they took a hold of her and immediately let Sam join
the other hostages.
“If anyone, anyone at all follows us we will kill you.” The man shouted and the group
shuffled out of the cinema and onto the street, Amelia in tow.
The walk back to the deception’s camp was long and arduous. They took pleasure in tripping
her and knocking her around while she was left completely defenceless. She thought of all the
situations she had managed to survive. She had managed to trek across the desert without
supplies for days, she had once fought off fifty armed soldiers and taken down a tank but it
seemed she would be taken down by an amateur terrorist group.
Eventually the group found a small clearing in the road and she was pushed to her knees in
the centre. Amelia had always guessed she would die by execution but she had never really
wanted it to happen like this. She tried to liken dying to her previous situation, telling herself
that quickly and loudly was the best way to go. “One” she breathed slowly, listening to the
blood pounding through her veins. “Two” she thought of all the things she would never get to
do. “Three” she thought of Sam who was safe now because of her and she smiled.
There was a gunshot and it rung in her ears like she thought it would but then there was
another, and another, and another. She opened her eyes and the men around her were
dropping one by one, picked off from the forest. Once they were all gone, a figure stepped
out from the trees followed by another. Dirk and Ryan had found her, they had saved her life.
She clambered to her feet and through her hands around the two of them “Thank you, thank
you!”
Dirk just laughed “You did the same for us”.
27
Chapter Ten- Epilogue
Four weeks had passed since that night and the town was once again it’s old self. The
paranoia was gone and the town was as friendly as ever. The terrorists had been arrested and
taken to Brisbane Penitentiary where they were to remain for the rest of their lives. Ryan had
brought Amelia flowers every day for the past month and Sam had returned to her former
post overseas. Dirk and Caitlyn were finally leaving the town. Amelia had donated a large
portion of her salary for Dirk to live somewhere safer, somewhere they couldn’t be found
again and where he could follow his dream. It had been sad to say goodbye but she knew it
was best for both him and his daughter so they promised to stay in touch. As for Amelia; she
had opted to remain in her position and vowed to keep the town safe from then on!
28
29
30
Amelia Hartwood lived an exciting life until she was
transferred to a menial job in the middle of nowhere.
Disguised as the shopkeeper for a DVD store, she
was in charge of delivering messages to her former
comrades and keeping track of the town’s rentals. In
the midst of preparations for the small towns biggest
events in years, Amelia uncovers a secret plot and
must piece together the clues to save the town in
time!