Speaker 1: The comic writer. Grayson sat back and lifted his comic
Speaker 1: page up towards the light. It was looking awesome, even
Speaker 1: if he did say so himself. Which you got there,
Speaker 1: Grayson asked Page, his older sister as she passed his room.
Speaker 1: It's my new comic, said Grayson proudly. I've still got
Speaker 1: most of the drawing to do, but all the writing's done.
Speaker 1: He turned the page so Page could see the grid
Speaker 1: work of boxes with neatly lettered word balloons alongside a
Speaker 1: handful of black and white drawings. Page tilted her head
Speaker 1: to read the first few panels. What's it about? She asked?
Speaker 2: What's what about?
Speaker 1: Demanded Caitlin, Grayson's other sister. She was younger than him
Speaker 1: and wearing one of her many Hello Kitty t shirts.
Speaker 2: Can I?
Speaker 1: She asked, making a grab for the sheet of paper.
Speaker 1: Hey careful, said Grayson, snatching it away. It's about a
Speaker 1: boy who falls into a comic page. He explained, that
Speaker 1: could never happen, snorted Page. That's exactly what my character's
Speaker 1: sister says in the story, replied Grayson, right before he
Speaker 1: falls in. I don't want you to fall in, whined
Speaker 1: Caitlyn as she grabbed her brother's wrist. Don't worry, Caitlyn,
Speaker 1: grinned Grayson. In my story, you have to say the
Speaker 1: magic word to make it happen. Page gently turned the
Speaker 1: paper in Grayson's hand to see what the word was.
Speaker 1: Zizzle frizzle, she said out loud. In an instant, the
Speaker 1: three children vanished, and the comic page floated to the
Speaker 1: bedroom floor. Grayson, Page and Caitlin were stood in a
Speaker 1: hot tropical jungle. It wasn't just the heat that came
Speaker 1: as a shit shock, but the loud noise of the
Speaker 1: insects that buzzed and chirped around them.
Speaker 2: Grayson, where's your bedroom?
Speaker 1: Wailed Caitlin. This this is how I imagined the island
Speaker 1: looking in my story. Grayson gasped, exactly like this. He
Speaker 1: realized his older sister had her hand over her mouth.
Speaker 1: She looked stunned. You okay, Paige, I said the magic word,
Speaker 1: She muttered. I didn't mean to make this happen. It's
Speaker 1: not your fault, Grayson replied, reassuringly. I didn't mean for
Speaker 1: this to happen when I wrote it either. Are we
Speaker 1: really in your story? Asked Caitlyn, still holding her brother's wrist. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think so, he nodded. It's too hot here, complained Caitlin.
Speaker 2: I want to go home. Yes, we should probably do that.
Speaker 1: Grayson agreed and quickly why, asked Page, sounding worried. He
Speaker 1: was already moving, pulling Caitlin along. Page rushed to keep up,
Speaker 1: because if this is my island from my story, I
Speaker 1: know what happens next, he said.
Speaker 2: Is it something dangerous like a spider?
Speaker 1: Squeaked Caitlin. Bigger than a spider, said Grayson. He caught
Speaker 1: sight of a rocky peak through the trees and changed
Speaker 1: direction toward it. Page gasped, We're not going to get
Speaker 1: chased by a tiger? Are we bigger than a tiger?
Speaker 1: Said Grayson, urging them onwards. An elephant then suggested Caitlin
Speaker 1: getting closer, Grayson said, as something crashed through the trees
Speaker 1: behind them, sending woods splintering. The three of them turned
Speaker 1: to see a large dinosaur following them.
Speaker 2: Is that real?
Speaker 1: Shrieked Page, as they all broke into a run. Don't worry,
Speaker 1: shouted Grayson. In my story, my character makes it to safety,
Speaker 1: But what about his sisters?
Speaker 2: Do they make it?
Speaker 1: Fretted Page, I don't know admitted Grayson. His sisters don't
Speaker 1: fall in with him. Page grabbed her sister's hand, pulling
Speaker 1: her forward. Well, I'm not willing to find out if
Speaker 1: I'm a dino snack, she announced. The dinosaur bellowed, but
Speaker 1: the three of them didn't dare turn around. Grayson's short
Speaker 1: glimpse had shown that it was uncannily like a doodle
Speaker 1: he had done in his notebook of a t Rex
Speaker 1: with some extra spiky bits. Nearly there, he panted. As
Speaker 1: they ducked beneath a gigantic fallen tree. The hunter behind
Speaker 1: them was forced to go the long way around, buying
Speaker 1: them valuable seconds. They pushed through some broad, heavy leaves
Speaker 1: to arrive at the base of the rocky peak Grayson
Speaker 1: had been aiming for. There was a triangular door doorway
Speaker 1: cut into the rock. It's right behind us, screamed Page.
Speaker 1: As they heard the pounding of the dino's heavy feet.
Speaker 1: They crashed through the doorway seconds before the open jaws
Speaker 1: snapped shut behind them. The dinosaur was too big to
Speaker 1: follow them inside, so roared its frustration at them. Instead.
Speaker 1: Feeling safe, the three of them slumped against the tunnel
Speaker 1: walls to catch their breath. Can we go home now,
Speaker 1: Caitlyn puffed. Not just yet, warned Grayson. But we do
Speaker 1: need to hurry if we're gonna be back by bedtime, why,
Speaker 1: asked Page.
Speaker 2: What happens if we're late? Uh?
Speaker 1: Well, in my story, you'd be stuck here, Grayson explained,
Speaker 1: looking guilty. Couldn't you have written a comic about someone
Speaker 1: eating pancakes or something, complained Page. I guess I thought
Speaker 1: this was more exciting, ANDed Grayson, with a small smile. Look,
Speaker 1: we really should get moving. Why are more dinosaurs coming,
Speaker 1: Page asked, as they followed their brother down the tunnel.
Speaker 1: Not dinosaurs, said Grayson. As they entered a cavern with
Speaker 1: an enormous hole in the floor. The space should have
Speaker 1: been in darkness, but was lit by a warm glow
Speaker 1: from within the pit. Putting his finger to his lips,
Speaker 1: Grayson led them to the edge, where they could see
Speaker 1: a sleeping dragon curled up below. Don't tell me we're
Speaker 1: going down there, whispered Page. No, that would be crazy,
Speaker 1: said Grayson. We're going up there. He pointed up to
Speaker 1: where the cavern formed a chimney up through the rocky peak.
Speaker 1: Roughly cut steps lined the tube of rocks spiraling upwards.
Speaker 1: Come on, best, get movin'. A single flight of stairs
Speaker 1: is easy to climb, and even climbing several flights wouldn't
Speaker 1: challenged most people. But these steps just went on and
Speaker 1: on and on. Several times Grayson reminded them to be quiet,
Speaker 1: so they climbed in silence, with only the noise of
Speaker 1: the dragons breathing echoing around the chamber. A baseball sized
Speaker 1: chunk of rock lay in their way about half way up,
Speaker 1: so Grayson made his sisters aware of it by making
Speaker 1: a big deal about stepping over it. Page copied his
Speaker 1: actions for Caitlin's benefit, but the youngest sister had other
Speaker 1: plans for the big stone. Rather than step over it,
Speaker 1: she kicked it aside no yelped Grayson. As the rock
Speaker 1: tumbled downwards toward the snoozing dragon, three of them broke
Speaker 1: into a run again far below, the rock bounced off
Speaker 1: the dragon's scales. It was enough to wake it, and
Speaker 1: the first thing it saw was the three fleeing children
Speaker 1: high above breakfast. It muttered as it began to uncurl
Speaker 1: and stretch.
Speaker 2: Are we going to make it?
Speaker 1: Panted Page. I don't think so, warned Grayson. There were
Speaker 1: still a lot of steps ahead of them. He chanced
Speaker 1: to glance downwards to see the dragon beginning to climb,
Speaker 1: using its claws to haul itself up the chimney. It
Speaker 1: wouldn't take long to reach them. Do something, Grayson urged. Caitlin.
Speaker 1: I can't, spluttered her brother. I'm just as trapped in
Speaker 1: here as you are.
Speaker 2: Yes, but it's your story.
Speaker 1: Insisted Caitlyn. She's right, agreed, Page. If you were writing this,
Speaker 1: wouldn't you create a way for your characters to survive?
Speaker 2: They were right.
Speaker 1: Grayson thought he would write it that way. So if
Speaker 1: he was writing this story, how would he save them?
Speaker 1: The dragon was catching up fast, its eyes fixed on
Speaker 1: its triple meal. Look for a gap in the wall.
Speaker 1: It'll be small, urged Grayson. Suddenly here, shouted up Caitlyn
Speaker 1: from the back. Her siblings had run straight past it.
Speaker 1: She wasted no time in scrambling through. Page dropped to
Speaker 1: her knees to follow, with Grayson piling in behind. They
Speaker 1: emerged in another tunnel and could see light ahead, but
Speaker 1: Grayson grabbed his sisters and urged them to climb instead.
Speaker 1: They were soon on a ledge above the gap they
Speaker 1: had crawled through, and just in time too. Several seconds
Speaker 1: of superheated dragon breath roared up the tunnel, bright and hot.
Speaker 1: That was close, said Caitlyn. If we'd run up the tunnel,
Speaker 1: we'd have been cooked, exclaimed Page. They waited until they
Speaker 1: were sure that the dragon was gone, then raced towards
Speaker 1: the daylight. Emerging on a platform high above the jungle,
Speaker 1: Grayson pulled his sister's back as the dragon wings opened.
Speaker 1: W glided from the peak above, off in search of
Speaker 1: easier prey. This way, said Grayson. More steps took them
Speaker 1: higher still, to where the chimney opened on fresh air.
Speaker 1: The sun's nearing the horizon, said Page. It'll be bedtime soon.
Speaker 1: It's okay, smiled Grayson, ushering them up the final steps
Speaker 1: to a stone arch. It was like something you'd see
Speaker 1: at Stonehenge. All we've got to do is step through,
Speaker 1: he said. That was fun, announced Caitlin, as she walked through,
Speaker 1: vanishing from sight. She's right, agreed Page, as she followed
Speaker 1: her sister. You should write more comics like this. Grayson
Speaker 1: stood alone atop the island he had created and grinned. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he said to himself, I think I will