The author is in fifth grade. He enjoys playing basketball and soccer.
“Jack was sort of afraid of the alley. It was a dark and dirty place, and there were a lot of rats. Jack hated dirt because he thought it was gross. However, he still had to go because his mom would make him go to bed at 7:00 if the garbage truck didn’t take the trash, and the garbage truck picked up the trash in the alley. Jack was kind of scared, but normally he was brave — it was 7 p.m. and dark outside.”
Characters:
JACK: A boy, 15 years old, tries to be a good son to his mom, he is afraid of the trash alley
MOM: Jack’s mom
PROFESSOR ELECTRO MAN: A professor who makes wacky inventions that have to do with electricity, high school friend of Jack’s mom
SHADOWTHIEF: A monster who is invisible in the shadows, kind of like a zombie, lives in a trash alley even though it doesn’t like trash
Chapter One: Monsters Attack
“Jack! Time to take out the trash,” Jack’s mom screamed.
“Okay. I’ll go put it in the alley,” Jack responded, pausing Mario Kart, his favorite game.
Jack was sort of afraid of the alley. It was a dark and dirty place, and there were a lot of rats. Jack hated dirt because he thought it was gross. However, he still had to go because his mom would make him go to bed at 7:00 if the garbage truck didn’t take the trash, and the garbage truck picked up the trash in the alley. Jack was kind of scared, but normally he was brave — it was 7 p.m. and dark outside.
Jack stepped outside of his house, and his blonde hair blew in the wind. The leaves rustled and crunched beneath his shoes and made a big crackling noise. His sweater wasn’t warm enough, and a shiver went down his spine. He walked the block to the alley and threw the trash really hard before he was even at the entrance, because he just wanted to leave and run home because he was scared.
It slowly stood up and stretched and growled. It was sleeping and was hit by Jack’s trash. It walked slowly to the end of the alley and peeked its head out. It saw Jack going into his house.
Jack thought someone was lurking in the dark, so he looked around and saw nothing but shadows. He turned back around and rushed into his house and walked straight to his room.
It walked slowly down the block, like a zombie, and the leaves didn’t even crunch beneath its feet. Silently, it approached Jack’s house with the trash Jack threw at him dragging behind him. It rang the doorbell.
“Who is it?” Jack asked.
Nobody answered.
Jack opened the door.
Nobody was there. Jack slammed the door and walked back to his room, terrified.
It crawled into the open kitchen window and threw the trash on the floor and made a mess on the kitchen floor with a bang. It crawled back through the window and went back to the alley.
Jack’s mom walked into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes because she was tired. She saw the trash all over the floor and was devastated and disappointed in Jack.
“Jack! Get in here,” she shouted.
“I’m coming!” he mumbled, half-asleep. Jack walked into the kitchen, worried and confused. Surprisingly, the trash was still in the kitchen. “But I took it out!”
“No video games for a week,” his mom interrupted. “Jack, take out the trash again in the morning. Back to bed.”
The next day…
Jack thought things were getting strange. He hadn’t put the trash in the kitchen. What had happened? Jack was going to go back to the alley to find out what was going on.
“Mom, I’m going out to get some vegetables!” Jack lied.
“Sure thing, Jack.” Jack’s mom thought something sketchy was going on, but she trusted Jack and was making dinner, so she decided not to interfere.
Jack stepped outside. He didn’t want to go back to the alley, but he clearly remembered seeing someone a few days ago when he took out the trash. He slowly started walking towards the alley, trying to be brave.
The shadowthief saw Jack coming to the alley, so he thought of a plan. A plan to haunt Jack. As Jack approached the alley, he felt someone walking behind him. He turned around. No one. Jack felt cold. He felt alone. Who was there? He heard footsteps coming from behind him. In his mind he thought, Mom, help me! Suddenly, the shadowthief grabbed him and ran away.
Jack’s mom looked at the clock. How come Jack isn’t back yet? she thought. She waited and waited. An hour passed. Still no one. Jack’s mom grabbed her coat. Tears poured down her face. She rushed out the door. She looked all over town, but she still couldn’t find Jack. When she got home, she couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t eat. She tried calling the police.
“My son disappeared! Can you help me find him?” she said on the phone.
“Okay, we’ll try to find him,” the policeman said.
Meanwhile, Jack was in a trash can tied up.
He waited for somebody to notice.
And waited.
And waited.
The police looked everywhere but couldn’t find Jack. The policeman called Jack’s mom to report the news. Jack’s mom felt depressed.
Jack decided that he was tired of waiting and would break out. But how? He made sure no one was there in a 50 meter radius. He tipped the trash can over with all his might. The trash can broke into pieces. He saw some broken glass on the side of the street and used it to cut the ropes that tied him together. It was cold and foggy outside, although Jack didn’t feel the cold because he was struck with horror. He went back to his house, speechless and stunned, and told his mom that he was safe. It was so late at night, but his mom was still awake and waiting for him. Jack told his mom about the shadowthief and about how he was going to find it. His mom didn’t want him to go, but Jack really wanted to find the shadowthief, so she insisted that he bring a knife and a flashlight.
“Stay safe!” Jack’s mom said.
“Okay, I will,” Jack said. He gave her a hug and went back and hid in the alley waiting for the shadowthief.
The shadowthief came back from another alley a few blocks away and looked in the trash can, but Jack wasn’t there. He went back to the first alley, but little did he know that Jack was waiting for him with the flashlight and the knife. The wind was howling, and Jack was nervous when he saw the shadowthief. He shone the flashlight and was about to ambush the shadowthief, when he noticed that the shadowthief was struggling in pain under the light.
Jack realized that the shadowthief was afraid of light. Now he knew the shadowthief’s weakness, so he wouldn’t have to worry about him again. He kept shining the flashlight on the shadowthief until he got home. He rushed inside and slammed the door, happy that he figured out how to deal with the shadowthief. He told his mom about the shadowthief’s weakness, and his mom was worried and relieved. Jack went straight to his room and flopped onto his bed.
The shadowthief recovered from the light in a few minutes, stood up and stretched, and wanted to kill Jack. The shadowthief ran out of the alley with a new plan.
The next day…
Jack woke up feeling proud of himself, thinking that he defeated the shadowthief. His mom had made him cake, and they had a dance party to celebrate Jack’s victory. In the middle of the party, the doorbell started ringing over and over again. Jack looked through the mini-window on the door and saw multiple shadow thieves violently banging on the door.
Jack ran up the stairs and quickly got his flashlight. He ran back down the stairs and shone the flashlight at the shadow thieves. But this wasn’t enough light. The door was starting to break open.
“Do you know what we should be doing now?” Jack said. “Running!!”
Jack and his mom ran and literally jumped out the window. The shadow thieves went to every house in town to scare everyone’s pants off. The whole town was under attack of shadowthieves.
“If only I had a light big enough to defeat those shadow thieves,” Jack said.
A few hours later…
The whole town was under attack. The shadowthieves scared everyone, and no one felt safe in the town. People all started to hide in all sorts of places.
“Mom, we have to do something about these shadowthieves. Maybe we could build a light big enough to defeat all these shadowthieves,” Jack said.
“Jack, we first have to run from these shadowthieves because they’re dangerous.” Jack and his mom hid in a car.
“Hey, Jack, I remember a friend in high school that can help us with this situation.”
“Mom, who is this friend from high school?”
“Professor electro man. He specializes in making unusual things that have to do with electricity. He can build a huge light for us.” Jack and his mom tried to find Professor electro man, but they couldn’t find him anywhere in town.
“Maybe he’s terrified about the shadowthieves so he also hid.”
“I see him!” Jack’s mom said. Jack and his mom rushed towards Professor electro man.
“Sally, is that you?” Professor electro man said.
“Yes yes yes, it’s me, and this is my son Jack.” Just then, a shadowthief grabbed Jack’s mom and ran.
“MOM!” Jack screamed. “Please, professor, help me build an enormous light to defeat these shadowthieves. Please, please, please with a cherry on top?”
“Sure thing, Jack, as long as it saves your mom,” the professor said. Jack and the professor started to make the enormous light invention.
Jack and the professor got in a helicopter and shone the light all over the city. Soon, all the shadowthieves were in pain and down.
“Great job, professor, but we need to find my mom.” Jack and the professor looked all over the city, but Jack’s mom was nowhere to be found. Jack was determined to find his mom. The day started to turn into night. Jack had to take out his flashlight, so he could see. Jack shone his flashlight towards a trash can. There was writing on it: Jack, Kenya.
Jack used his knife to cut a hole in the trash can. Out slid a piece of paper, a map of Kenya.
Chapter Two: Hope
Hey, guys. It’s me, Jack. I just lost my mom a few days ago. I discovered a trash can and a map with writing on it. Now what do I do? I have to stay in Kenya with this crazy professor that I barely even know. This all started because of me. I hope to save my mom. I hope she’s safe. It all started when I threw some trash away. It hit this thing so-called the “shadowthief,” and now the “shadowthieves” stole my mom and pretty much destroyed the city.
Kenya is a hot place with sunny days. Normally, I would be happy because I love bright days, but how could I be happy when I lost my mom?
“Where do you think my mom will be?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe somewhere no one can see,” said the professor.
I realized that on the map, there was an X. The X was on the Museum of Shadows. “Wherever there’s an X, my mom is probably there,” I said.
“Let’s go find your mom!” the professor said.
“I’m glad that it’s night because the shadowthieves like the darkness,” I said.
The professor and I walked into the deserted museum, hearing screams of innocent people and carrying the enormous flashlight that the professor made. It was dark inside. We walked around, searching for my mom. Suddenly, I saw something run past me so fast that it was blurry. I froze. I realized that it was the shadowthief. The professor and I ran towards the shadowthief that ran past me. The shadowthief led us to a silent room. I started to hear my own heart beating.
“Professor, you go in first,” I whispered.
The professor nodded and went in. Five minutes passed. He didn’t come out. I was terrified. Sweat trickled down my head. I realized that the professor was also trapped by the shadowthieves. I slowly walked into the room, my legs trembling, hoping to find my mom and the professor. I turned gears and clicks and switches to turn on the light. When the light was on, I saw my mom and the professor both tied up.
I used the knife that my mom had given me to cut through the thick ropes that tied my mom and professor together. I hugged my mom and the professor. Right when I freed them, I felt footsteps coming behind me. I turned around, feeling seven pairs of footsteps coming. I know they’re the shadowthieves that captured my mom and the professor! I tried to run and escape, but I couldn’t find the door. I shone the light at the shadowthieves and hit them right away. I heard them collapsing on the ground. Meanwhile, the professor found the door, and we ran out of the museum. As we bolted out of the museum, we heard the shadowthieves running trying to catch us. I kept shining the flashlight at them, but it was no use because they kept dodging the light. I felt them gaining on me. The professor, my mom, and I slammed into a brick wall and were cornered by shadowthieves. They got closer and closer and closer…
“We had a nice life. Goodbye, Mom,” I said.
“Don’t worry, son — ” she said, but before she could finish her sentence, she was eaten. Tears escaped my eyes and poured down my cheeks. I tried to fight back but —
The end…
Or is it the end???
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