Group+1

Group 1: Joshua Chang, Xuan Kai, Ethan Cheong and Zeus The topic for your process writing is: **Finding Courage** Type out your process writing below. Have fun!


 * Mr Lim's Comments

This is a workable story, but I think you might want to consider which ideas are really worth elaborating on. It is not the length that matters, but whether the story is of good quality. Zeus, good job of putting in your comments after each edit, but I sense a kind of contradiction. You want your members to contribute, but when they do you scold them for changing the storyline... What do you really think you should do?

Cheers, Mr Lim **

__**Prologue: This is the story of Marc Thamy, who found the courage to save his girlfriend, Leona Tana, from kidnappers.**__

As I walked down the dark and unsettling alley that ran from our school to the open barren land beside my house, I recalled the memories of that day's activities. I thought about the lessons and the homework but finally my thoughts landed on my girlfriend and come to think about it she had been acting strangely as though the cat had caught her tongue as she was usually a chatterbox. As I reached the alley that led to the bus stop, a few howls and wails echoed from deep within the heart of the alley that sent chills down my spine and sweat trickling down from the nape of my neck. Then, a faint whisper of an inhuman voice slowly drifted into my ears, I strained my ears a little more, and made out a few words," Marc, Marc, help... help me... please," there was a moment of silence but the voice called out again, only this time, further, fainter, softer. Hearing that, I gasped and took a few steps back, for it was my name that the voice was calling out to. I was trembling with fear. Upon reaching the end of the alley, a feeling of dread and fear overcame me, I felt scared for the first time in those umpteenth times that I have passed through this alley.

One half of my mind was curious while the other was afraid, finally I was overcome by curiosity and I slowly trudged towards the heart of the alley. As I reached the point where the creepy wails were pulsating from, I gasped a second time as my keen eyes spotted the familiar shape of my girlfriend's phone, with the glass screen scratched. I hung on to the small little chance that the phone might still work, so I bent down and picked the phone up, and slowly switched the phone on, and to my relief, it greeted me with a modern pop rock tune.I fumbled with the phone and almost dropped it, but thanks to my great reflexes, I caught it just in time before it fell with a crash. Holding the phone firm and tight now, I went to the tool, "recent messages" and checked the messages finding out that there was a message sent to her recently. In a jiffy, I opened the message and checked who was the sender, then I read the message which gave me the shock of my life. It read "DROP THE MONEY HERE BY 7:05PM. IF NOT YOU WILL DIE!" I made a quick guess that the senders must have kidnapped her at this exact spot at around 7:05pm. I glanced at my watch and saw that it had just turned 7:06 so I reckoned that she was just captured. Gathering all my wits, I searched for fresh footprints or any clues that might lead me to Leona.

I trudged a few paces back, and as luck might have it, I stepped on a glass piece which was smashed to smithereens by my weight, and feeling the anger build up in me, I followed the trail of glass pieces with my head kept down low, muttering and cursing at those gods that allowed Leona to be captured. When the trail of glass had finally ended, I found myself standing by a dumpster right at the center of a junkyard. I took a quick but sharp glance at my surroundings, which lead me to believe that there was nothing else out there other than me, the dumpster and the junk. But I realised that there was more to it. I could not have been brought here by the trail for nothing, could I? This time, I aroused all my senses and began to search for further clues to where the captors had held Leona.

After looking for about fifteen minutes, I already felt like giving up. However, the thought of Leona being captured spurred me on. I had looked everywhere around that area, and I sat on a rubbish bag to rest. Scanning the area, my eyes looked for other places where the kidnappers could have kept Leona. I was thinking, where could the kidnappers have hidden Leona? Preferably somewhere enclosed, somewhere where nobody would suspect Leona to be hidden. Suddenly, my eyes fell onto the dumpster. I climbed onto on of the mounds of junk, looking into the dumpster. Strangely, it was completely empty. Slowly, I climbed into the dumpster. It was pitch black, and I could hardly see a thing. Groping with my hands, I felt something that felt like a handle. I pulled it and light flooded into the dumpster. As my eyes grew accustomed to the light, I saw it. A trapdoor! Without another thought, I jumped through the trapdoor, and into the darkness.

Suddenly the dark came rushing up to grab me, I stood there, blinking at the thick, musty darkness of the hideout. Groping at the darkness, I slowly inched myself towards the heart of the base. Slowly my eyes started to accustom to the dark, but I knew that it would not do me any good, because then, I would have to face the darkness alone with its creeping terrors.

I strained my ears to listen for any footsteps, but there was nothing, it seemed as though the whole hideout was empty, dead empty, but a monotonous thud of a footsteps broke the silence. Then, I saw a red ribbon lying on the floor, immediately recognising it as the red ribbon that Leona always wore to school! I concluded that the kidnappers must have hid her here. Looking down the passageway, I saw the trapdoor lead to a tunnel which lead further underground. Suddenly, I heard soft footsteps coming from the tunnel. I caught a glimpse of a hooded figure, dragging Leona by the neck! Immediately I froze. At first, I thought about going back. But the thought of Leona being captured spurred me on, giving me the courage needed to save Leona.

Walking cautiously down the dark tunnel, following Leona and her captors, I silently and swiftly darted around the tunnel. I accidentally slipped on a banana peel and fell with a crash. Surprisingly, the kidnapper did not seem to respond. I immediately stood up and continued to follow him, through the dark, slimy walls, occasionally groping along the walls. Soon, the tunnel widened out and eventually I ended up in a circular room. Occupying the whole space was a huge cell which held a few groaning prisoners whom had wounds everywhere who were immediately silenced by a captor's menacing glare. Leona had a scarf tied around her mouth, her arms tied behind her back and a look of pure terror in her eyes. Seeing me, she immediately started to shout something, but the words came out muffled as the scarf was tied around her mouth. I had the feeling she was trying to warn me, so I twisted around and jumped away from the spot where I would have been knocked out had I not jumped away at the last second. With the kidnapper slowly advancing nearer and nearer, I had no choice but to flee. Thinking about what to do next, I thought: "I'll be back to save Leona, just you wait you heinous kidnappers."

Stumbling through the dark, musty interior of the hideout, I found my way out and stumbled into the familiar white blinding light and onto the familiar mortar of the alley. Spotting a rusty hammer on the ground, I picked it up and balancing it in my hand, sprinting back to the hideout. Surprisingly, when I got back to the circular room, the kidnapper had mysteriously disappeared.

After returning to the cell, I held up my weapon and brought it down on the lock, which fell with a clatter onto the stony floor. After they had escaped, the prisoners thanked me profusely and Leona encased me in a tight embrace, but I insisted I had to get them to safety first. After another short walk down the tunnel, I finally emerged from the hideout along with the people that had been held prisoners. I called the hospital and police to treat the ex-hostages. The ambulance came and the paramedics took them away except Leona, who insisted to stay with me. Then the police arrived, and we led them to the hideout. Leona embraced me then tagged along to my house.

That night, a bunch of reporters appeared at the entrance of my parent's bungalow just as Leona was going to leave."Were you one of the prisoners?", one reporter asked Leona."Yes, and this boy, Marc, was our hero!" "Was it true you saved her and some other hostages from the Bloody Ripper?", he asked me. "The who?" I asked.