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About the Author Shreya Chaudhuri, student of class VI A writes during her free time. Some of her writings have been published in neighborhood magazines. She also loves to go out and play on the street. She has once taken a camel ride in Rajasthan when she was five.
About the Illustrator Barnini Mitra is a promising and passionate illustrator who likes to write poetry through picture. A student of artist Procheta Mukherjee Olson, Barnini has been working on various forms such as pastel-onpaper, oil and acrylic-on-canvas for some years. Her dream is to do her solo art exhibition, and pursue visual arts in higher studies.
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CHAPTER 1: Ginny and Lydia were laughing their heads off at the funny antics of their friends. Both of them were twelve. Their legs were dangling from a wall. In front of them Flabby was trying to squash Billy. It was a daily routine. Flabby was plump and vertically challenged. He was eleven, but acted like an old soul. Billy was about nine. He was quite short. It was quite easy to bully him. He was a jolly kid and fun to play with. But rub him in the wrong place and he would show you his enormous lung power! Lydia was the tallest in the group. She could be called a bamboo tree. She was already about five and a half feet tall! Ginny was short and had short hair. She was fun-loving. Ginny always had a lot of friends around her. And the kids adored her. While Flabby was trying to squash Billy, Billy was calling his elder brother, David. David was thirteen. He was the eldest in the group. He was very possessive about his younger brother. He wouldn’t let anyone even touch Billy. So, David with his lean body started wrestling Flabby, who was as strong as an ox. From the background, Billy was shouting in a squeaky voice, “Come on Bro, burn Flabby’s fat to ashes.” But that was easier said than done.
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In the meanwhile, Rick and Sunny were doing some kind of tribal dance. They just shook their heads and hands like mad. Rick was about six and the youngest. He was scared of most things. But he ran like a cheetah. He climbed like a monkey and jumped like a brand-new ping pong ball. Sunny was eight and was popularly known as ‘Sleeping Beauty’. Most of the days he slept like somebody had administered him sleeping pills. Maybe someone actually did! These seven children used to play out on the street of their neighborhood in Portsmouth every day. They used to play together, fight and make up and life was going on when one single event upturned their lives completely…….
CHAPTER 2: That day, the children started playing hide and seek. Billy was the seeker. Little did they know, that was the biggest mistake they had made. While Billy was looking for his friends, all the others except Sunny were hiding in Flabby’s backyard. They were trying to keep quiet when they heard a muffled scream from Billy. And, as they turned their faces towards him, they saw a terrifying sight! Two men, dressed in black, were holding Billy. One of them was pointing a gun at Billy’s head. Billy was terrified. Tears streaked down his cheeks. David was about to shout for help when one of the men said, “You dare speak a word, or your little brother’s head will get blown off”. Nobody moved or said anything. They quietly followed the men. All of them valued Billy’s life. They were ready to do anything to save him. They knew that each step they took closer to the black van that was standing close, the more unpredictable 4
their lives would become. They even knew that if they took a step back, Billy’s life would be over…. In the meanwhile, Sunny saw everything. He was too horrified to say anything. He just saw his friends getting whisked away in a black van. Just after the van passed, he ran back home and informed his parents on what he had just seen. But it was too late…
The six children were taken in a black van. Their mouths were tied with handkerchiefs; their hands and legs were tied with hard ropes. They were headed for an unknown destiny. All of them were scared to death. The younger ones were crying. But the men didn’t have any mercy on them; they just chatted away as if nothing had occurred. The van headed south from Portsmouth toward the docks. The view was great. But nobody talked about the view. Everybody was occupied in their own thoughts. Lydia and Flabby were trying to open the ropes that were tied to their hands. Ginny and David tried to free their legs. The younger two were hopelessly watching their kidnappers. Unfortunately, the men were boy scouts when they were young. They knew very well how to tie knots.
Within an hour or so they reached the shore. A ship was waiting for the party, it was a private ship. In big bold letters ‘BLACK JACK’ was printed on the side of the ship. 5
A big sturdy evil looking man came up to them and asked, “Were they behaved?” He nodded. “Take them to the ship. Keep them below. Give them some food” with a sneer he said, “After all they are our young guests”. All the men guffawed…
CHAPTER 3: It had become dark. The six children were locked in the basement. All of them were scared and terrified. Their kidnappers had been generous enough to open their hands and mouths. But they could not go outside of that room. It had only one window. They could clearly understand that they were about two feet above the water. In the corner of the room were some locked crates. The English Channel was calm and a great day for a vacation. But the children were in no state of mind to think of vacations. They only wanted to go home. After a long silence David said, “We can’t just stay here and wait to be rescued. We have to get ourselves out!”
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“But how?” moaned Flabby.
“With this,” said Lydia taking out a hairpin from her hair. She had read a lot of detective stories and knew how a hairpin could be used.
So she went up to the door and gingerly inserted the hair pin. But, it wouldn’t budge. So, Ginny tried with a bigger clip. After a long time there was a clicking sound. And the door was open!
“Wait a minute”, said Billy, “We can’t just walk out. We are in the middle of the English Channel and none of us know how to row”.
“We’ll manage, Billy”, answered David. He tried to sound courageous, although he didn’t have much hope in rowing in the English Channel.
“We should hurry up”, said Ginny, “It’s better to be rowing in the English Channel rather than the Mediterranean. We’ll reach there in no time.”
So they silently went out of the room. They climbed up the stairs and came up to the deck. The ship was huge. The crew was partying somewhere. After looking around for some time, the children found two life boats. They were big and sturdy. The children pulled at the lever beside the boat. And thankfully the boat started rising and went to its side. It was hanging with the help of a rope. It was a few feet above the water. They pulled another lever and lo and behold, the rope became loose and the boat crashed into the water. The crew came rushing out. The children hid inside the other life boat. The captain exclaimed, “What’s happened to my life boat?” he 7
turned to one of the men and said, “Don’t tell me that you dropped my life boat overboard.” Just then the mate opened the cover of the other life boat. He was surprised to see six terrified children crouched inside it. “I’ve got your culprits, Captain. They are here,” he said. “What? Those brats dare try to escape? If it wasn’t for the deal, I made with you, I would have chopped these kids and eaten them alive,” he told the man dressed in black.
The man said, “We need them alive. Our boss wants them at Saudi Arabia but you can punish them.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do that. Bring them below, John.”
Some men held their hands behind their backs and carried them down. They were too scared to fight. After all they were children. As the ship gained speed and crossed the English Channel, the more helpless they became. The closer they came to their unknown destination, the further they drifted away from their home and the chance of going back again……
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CHAPTER 4: The group was taken to the same room. The door was locked again. But now the captain was in the room with a wooden cane in his hand. He paced up and down for some time, tapping the cane on his hand. After a long pause he said, “You know what? When I was young, our teachers used to hit us with a cane on our hands when we misbehaved. And you have misbehaved. You destroyed my life boat.” “But you are trying to destroy our lives. Who cares for a raft?” blurted out Flabby. “I don’t think you know me”, said the Captain now quite angry. “If you did, you wouldn’t have made me angry. Now keep quiet and come up one by one in front of me. Hey boy, first you,” he said pointing at David. David walked up and extended his hand. With all his force the captain hit David’s palm. David winced. His palm was bleeding. But he didn’t take it away. The captain hit him again and yelled, “Next!” Flabby came up, his eyes closed tight. The captain grinned and hit him. He cried out in pain. Tears were rolling down his eyes. He might look big but inside he was still a child. Then the captain said, “We’ll, ladies I’ll not hit you. And you two”, he said looking at the younger two; “I left you this time. But next time I won’t. You dare move out of this room.” He left them scared in that horrifying room. After he left, Ginny and Lydia went over to David and Flabby. By this time, Flabby was howling in pain. Lydia was trying to make him calm. She was pouring some water on his hand. Ginny was taking care of David. She tore a piece of cloth and wrapped it around his hand. Billy and Rick were doing what they were told to do. After some time when Flabby’s pain had ceased, they sat talking. They had no idea what they should do next. 9
“Where are they taking us?” asked Rick. “I think they are taking us to Saudi Arabia. That’s where their boss lives,” said Ginny. “But what will they do to us? Don’t tell me they’ll make human chops out of us,” asked Rick. “I don’t think so.” said David, “Maybe they will ask for ransom.” “Or sell us to another country,” said Lydia. “They may even make us participate in camel races. They are popular in eastern cities like Saudi Arabia,” said Flabby. “What’s a camel race? I’ve never heard of it,” asked Rick. “Camel races are illegal in most places. It’s a dangerous sport. Children are smuggled from other places so that they can be camel jockeys. Their light weight makes it possible. Most children fall off and die. This type of sport still takes place in countries like Saudi Arabia. I just hope they don’t make us participate in a camel race,” explained Flabby. “We should try to escape from this as soon as when we reach land,” said David. Although he liked the idea of a camel ride, he definitely was not eager for a camel race. So they just waited. After some time one of the men brought them some food and a few sacks. He put them on the floor and said, “Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll reach the shore.” He went out and locked the room. “The shore!” exclaimed rick, “We can escape from there!” “Let’s hope we don’t get caught again,” Billy said sadly, “I just want to go home.” They started eating the food that they were provided with. It tasted weird. But they didn’t notice. They were too hungry. After eating, they lay down trying to get some rest. But the whole night they twisted and turned on the floor. Were they going to have a good or bad day? Would they be able to escape their fate? 10
CHAPTER 5: As the sun rose high in the horizon, the ship reached a city a little far from Paris in France. It was a beautiful city. The children were taken out of the ship. Their mouths were tied. Their hands were tied behind their backs. They were put into the back of a truck. The truck started. It was to go to Paris. The truck was filled with crates. Somehow David could untie his hands. Then he untied the others. There was a small hole at the side of the truck. The children were seeing the view from the hole. “Where are they taking us?” said Flabby. “I think Paris,” said Ginny. “But why? Weren’t they taking us to Saudi Arabia?” asked Flabby. “Maybe they are taking a detour,” said Lydia. “Maybe they will kidnap some other children,” suggested Rick in a scared voice. 11
“I’m scared, brother,” said Billy, “I hope they don’t beat you again.” “Not unless we get caught while escaping,” said David. “But how will we escape?” asked Rick. “No idea.” admitted David. After sometime the children started investigating the truck. They started with the crates. They were surprised to see what was in them. There were jewelry, money, precious stones and a lot of valuable things. It might have cost a million! After a long time, they reached Paris. It was a beautiful city. The Eiffel tower was standing in all its glory. The bazaars were glowing with small golden lamps. People were walking on the streets. No one noticed a truck full of kidnapped children. The truck rode on. It came to a halt in a very unfriendly place. It was dark and it had dark alleys. Two men came and opened the door. And they were in for a shock! They were so dazed seeing that the children were free and ready for a physical confrontation that the men couldn’t move. Rick jumped on top of one of the men and was on his shoulder in no time. Rick started hitting the man on his head. Lydia kicked the other man and David punched him in the face. Ginny and Billy went to attack the driver. Ginny punched him from behind and Billy bit his hairy hand. Flabby just sat flat on the man Rick was handling. In no time the three men were unconscious. The six children saw their chance and began to run. They were free. They started running for safety. They ran with all their force…..
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CHAPTER 6: They ran through the market and through the alleys. They passed the Eiffel tower. They were about to enter the police station when they froze. The men, from the ship, dressed in black, were heading towards them. They were about to scream but within a split second, one of the men caught hold of Rick. The man held a gun at his head. They were caught again. They were back to square one. They looked at each other. Thoughts crossed each other’s minds. Suddenly Billy pointed towards the other direction and shouted, “Look what’s there!” The men looked towards that. Then Rick took such a big step that no one would have had the guts to do. He bit the hand of the man who was holding him. The man cried out and let go of the gun. Ginny dived and caught the gun in her hand. She got up quickly and yelled, “Freeze! Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” just like in the movies.
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Billy now let out a super loud scream on top of his voice, “Help! Police help!� The police heard this and came in no time. The men were handcuffed before they could realize anything. The men were taken away to the police station along with three of their colleagues, who were earlier unarmed by the children. The crates full of priceless things were taken to the museum. The men were questioned about their boss in Saudi Arabia. The police got to know that they were dealing with camel racing in Saudi Arabia. Each year these men would kidnap children from different places and make them camel jockeys. It was sad that so many small children had earlier lost their lives. But our little heroes worked in a team and never lost hope. The police announced medals for their bravery. The children took a flight back home and were able to get back to their parents. David did not get his camel ride but this was better than anything he wanted.
All’s well that ends well!!!!
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Six children get kidnapped by dreaded criminals and get shipped out of their country. Will they ever be able to get back to their families?
Cover: BARNINI MITRA 17