Superwriter pupils rewarded - read the six top prizewinners' stories!

Amy Jane Hurst, Matthew Peaty, Katie Shepherd, Matthew Cowley, Phoebe Kay and Liverpool Blue Coat student Hafsa, were among 337 children and young people to enter the competition, which was sponsored by Newton Rotary Club and West Lancashire Freemasons.

Entrants were required to write a short story about a superhero using one of six possible story starts.

First prize winners were Amy Jane Hurst, 11, from Thatto Heath Primary School and Matthew Cowley, 19, of Wargrave House School. There were two runners-up in each of the primary and secondary categories and a number of children were also highly commended or commended.

A celebration event attended by 90 people - including library staff and representatives from Newton Rotary Club and West Lancs Freemasons - was held at Chester Lane Library where the Mayor and Mayoress of St Helens, Councillors Dave and Jeanette Banks, presented winners with their certificates and vouchers.

Praising everyone who took part, Sue Williamson, head of library services for St Helens Council, said: “We received an overwhelming number of entries for our superhero creative writing competition and it was difficult to choose six winning pieces from the 337 entries submitted.

“The quality of work on display was very impressive which underlines the beauty of creative writing and that anything can be achieved when you put your imagination to it.”

The winners

Primary category

First prize:

Amy Jane Hurst, 11, a Year 6 pupil at Thatto Heath Primary School, won first prize for her story about how an afternoon at McDonald’s led to her being called upon to save people from a burning World of Glass museum using her superpower, super-breath...

I thought it was a normal Saturday morning in St Helens town centre but maybe I was mistaken…

"Hello, what would you like today Miss" asked the woman behind the counter in McDonald's, Church Street. "Can I have a plain cheese burger happy meal with a strawberry milkshake please" I asked "Sure and thank you for shopping at McDonalds. Your order is prepared at the next till." As I was casually walking over a surge of energy rushed through me. I sat down at a table near the window and started eating my chips. A shimmering white glow shone around me; like a portable sun, what was happening?

I soon found myself hovering  - like a bird – over the Town Hall I looked down at myself blue boots; purple tights; a pink skirt and top; surely this was a dream! Where my step counter once sat, a high tech watch on my wrist started to glow and buzz. At first I thought I had got my 10,000 steps. Then a hologram appeared. "Agent Seven you are needed at The World of Glass immediately. The fire from the furnace has spread and people are still inside" the woman said. I flew to The World of Glass as fast as I could. Screams were heard from inside and people were pouring outside. I landed steadily on the ground and with my super-strength I forced the door open and a big cloud of smoke came out. When all the people were out, I blew out the fire with my super-breath. It’s a good job I brushed my teeth when mum nagged me this morning. Sirens could be heard screeching outside, the fireman rushed in. When they discovered there was no fire they went back outside to speak to the workers and let all the tourists know it was safe.

I decided to make my way back to McDonald's. I landed just outside and I went back to my normal self. The people inside hadn’t noticed me come in, they were all too busy watching the news.

(Trying to look casual) I watched the TV like everyone else and spotted that I was on it, even though I hadn’t noticed any cameras at the time. It was all talk for the next few weeks, even got a mention in the St Helens Star. I’d decided to keep my identity a secret and I’ve got a story to tell and treasure forever.

Primary category

Second prize:

Runner-up in the primary category was Year 6 Ashurst Primary School pupil, Matthew Peaty, 11, for his humorous story 'Skunk Boy'.

The rash itched; it had been like that since Sam had been bitten by the skunk. He was walking through the ghastly woods of Castellar Town – the only way he could go home – and all of a sudden, the little rascal sank its teeth into his arm. Of course the skunk sprayed that rancid spray at him, but the stinging pain took his mind off it.

After buying a packet of plasters and mars bar from the Co-Op, Sam went home. He felt tired since he stayed up late to go to the cinema with his friends to watch some cheesy superhero film. As soon as he got in his house, Sam felt dizzy. Everything around him was going colourless, and his vision was lagging. Being sick was pretty much guaranteed. But he just fell onto his couch. Unconscious! His mother and father weren’t home (they were having some sort of drunken high school reunion).

Sam woke up the next day feeling fine, although he didn’t remember the previous night. He went to school as always. Walking through the school hallways was bizarre, Sam’s face felt numb, and when his friends paraded around him shouting: "What did ya think of the film, mate," or "Oi you! You didn’t respond to me text last night!" he just walked through the maelstrom, not communicating.

Maths lesson came around with dreaded Mrs Pigsnout, but then, for the first time in the day, Sam spoke…

"Um, Miss," he said putting up his hand.

"Yyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeessssssssss boy!!!!"

"May I go to the lavatory please?"

"How dare you think that you can go fouling during my lesson!"

At this point, Sam did not care, so he ran into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror and saw that his brown eyes had turned neon green, and a large black and white tail grew from his bottom! Like a skunk!

DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNNN!!!! Oh sorry about that readers, I couldn’t resist.

He fell backwards from shock, but his back collided with a small red button on the wall, the fire alarm. The loud, obnoxious sound coasted through the school. And within seconds, lines of students rushed into the playground. But even after Sam set the alarm off, he continued to fall and then he realised that the wall had broken from his force!

An unpleasant mixture of screams and gasps evaporated the sound of the alarm as the pupils marvelled at Sam. He stood up and Mrs Pigsnout rushed over to see what all the fuss was about.

"Samuel Hudson! This is not a dress up day! Stand up and take off that ridiculous costume!"

But he made the worst mistake possible. He trumped.

"Detention for the whole ye-" The fart was a large, green gust that crawled into the teacher’s wrinkled nose. She immediately fell to the floor, screaming.

"OK, I’ve had enough of you young man," she said enviously.

Suddenly, her body swelled up into a large monster. Sam repeatedly struck at her until she fell back to her usual form, a middle-aged, loathsome teacher.

"What are you?" a pupil asked.

Sam replied, "I am Skunk - Boy"

Primary category

Third prize:

St Thomas of Canterbury pupil Katie Shephard, 10, rounded off the prizes in the primary category for her story about a superhero named STORM...

Last week an alien space craft landed in Sherdley Park! …

My name’s Diana. OK, I’ll tell you a BIG secret – I’m a superhero!

On Sunday afternoon, I went for a stroll in Sherdley Park (thinking it was going to be a normal day), when suddenly I heard a weird noise in the sky!

“Here we go again" I sighed. "Probably my 'friends' the space squids"

However, when I looked up, this looked NOTHING like the space squids. I knew what it was though. Something terribly blobby. Something from a very long way away. Something that made me wish a few other kids had been born with super powers.

Aliens (from the Planet Pff)

Quick as lightening, I turned my clothes inside out, revealing my superhero outfit (black and green, if you were wondering) which had my superhero name on it:

STORM

The ship was a black UFO with lights all-round the rim. It was metal, and it hovered over the ground like a hawk over its prey. THUD! SLAM! The bleak, grey door-ramp thing banged down on to the icy, frosted grass and two shadow-like beings appeared in the doorway.

I looked on in horror. These aliens had green, gruesome wrinkled skin like my brother’s tissues when he has a cold!

"Foolish mortal," said one alien, who spoke in a metallic, robotic voice.

"Quite right too, Bellatina," laughed another.

Slowly, I advanced towards the aliens. Surely my powers of strength and hypnotism could save me now. My eyes spiralled green and yellow.

"Concentrate," I muttered to myself. Then – "You are getting very sleepy. You are falling asleep. When I say the word, you will be asleep – ALAZAMBOOCK!"

"What?" I cried. For the aliens still stood, their eyes unblinking.

"Your childish tricks do not work on us," scorned Bellatina.

"Only the Crystal of Orion breaks the spell," added Bobbsteve

"SHH, you fool!" Bellatina screamed.

My mind whirred like a spinning clock. If I could find the crystal, I could hypnotise those silly aliens!

"Take her aboard"

I found myself in a great, grey room filled with staring green aliens. Their leader swivelled his chair round and I saw that he was gold, not green.

"Storm", he purred, "You are first on the list! A list of 'heroes' possibly a threat to us. Which is why you are here. Show her the Crystal of Orion, Melaanad"

I saw a beautiful, sea-green gem, I knew that this was the key to getting me out of here, but Melaanad slammed the box shut.

"HI – YAA!"

I lunged at Melaanad, Bellatina, Bobbsteve and others. I punched, kicked and dodged. I seized the crystal and hurriedly waved it in front of the aliens.

"You will obey," I said. "You will do my every command."

And that’s how 23 aliens came to work in a bakery.

(They lost a lot of customers after that!)

Secondary category

First prize:

Matthew Cowley, 19, of Wargrave House School was awarded first prize for his piece 'Dark Rain' which tells the tale of masked hero, Timebreaker the Time Warrior.

 
I thought it was a normal Saturday morning in St Helens town centre, but maybe I was mistaken… Suddenly, a woman yelled out a cry for help, as her purse was snatched by a mysterious shadow. I soon chased down the criminal and cornered him in a nearby alley, where I was surprised to see that the criminal was a giant mutant fish! His name was the Deep-Sea King, and he and his Sea Tribe were going to conquer the world! I was about to engage the villain in mortal combat when I noticed various sea mutants attacking the town centre. With no time to waste, I changed into Timebreaker, the Time Warrior! Using my powers of acceleration, I soon managed to defeat all the Sea Tribe with a single blow! I was soon face to face with the Deep-Sea King, but then it started to rain. I watched in amazement as the villain tripled in size and strength. Fortunately, my clockwork like brain soon came up with plan. I quickly used my power of acceleration to create a powerful tornado, sucking up all the moisture in the Deep-Sea King’s body. Without water to sustain him, the villain shrank back to his former height. Then, I slowed down time to a crawl and punched the Deep-Sea King with all my might. When time returned to normal, the villain exploded in a shower of blood and scales. I stopped time again, cleaned up the remains of the villain and left the scene before starting time again. When the press arrived on scene, there was only one word on everybody’s lips – "who was that masked man?"

Secondary category

Second prize:

Haydock High’s Phoebe Kay came second for her detailed description of how the son of Satan came face-to-face with his father.

The rash itched; it had been like that since Sam had been bitten by her. He looked down at it now and saw black branching off from the bite, like looking down on a blackthorn in mid-winter. He placed his right hand over the bite mark on his left, and once again tried to heal it. This time closing his eyes and blocking out everything around him, the tick of the clock, the hum of the refrigerator, the mewling of Navi who had been shut into her cage after biting him. He opened his eyes and stared down at the black branches. They had grown.

He slowly walked into the kitchen, each step sending a pulse through his head. Wavering, and struggling to keep his balance, he stood; he leaned against the counter and took a small knife from the drawer. He made an incision where the black branches were, and a strange black sludge came oozing out. He began to squeeze his hand to force more out, sending shooting pains all the way up his arm which travelled down his back. He could feel everywhere the pain touched, and he thought he could see every line it made. In fact, he could. He looked down a few times to check his eyes weren’t deceiving him, and surely enough these lines were black too.

He tried again to heal the area, but nothing faded expect for the cut he had made, which appeared to have never been there. It wasn’t until now that he realised he hadn’t had to shut out the sounds coming from Navi, because there were none…

He tried to stand up straight and move away from the counter, but black blurred the edges of his vision, like he was wearing a mask with two tiny pin holes for eyes, and he was just so dizzy he dropped hard onto the tile flooring. It would be so easy just to lie here, he thought to himself, to lie here and let the darkness envelop him. He almost let it, but he couldn’t leave the world in the hands of the devil. What a pathetic way for all it all to end, he thought, lying on his kitchen floor after being bitten by his infected cat, instead of out there destroying ghouls, or even Satan himself. What would his mother say? His father would certainly laugh in triumph, for he was the son of Satan, born of a human mother, yet blessed with the powers of an angel. How this was possible he did not know, all he was aware of was the darkness, and a faint tinge of red. All he was aware of was that he was the only person who could end all of this. And he wasn’t going to do it by lying on his kitchen floor feeling sorry for himself. He pushed himself onto his hands and knees, and out of the corner of his eye he saw him.

"Hello son".

Secondary category

Third prize:

‘Terror in the Town’, a story of how a teenage vampire saved the townsfolk of St Helens from alien abduction, secured 12-year-old Hafsa third place.

Last week, an alien space craft landed in Sherdley Park in the middle of the night and an eerie mist filled the air. A young boy noticed the spooky atmosphere, but thought it was just a vision and returned to his bed.

This boy was not a normal boy, though. He was Mark Butterscotch, a 15-year-old with shiny, black hair and sapphire blue eyes. He lived most of his life in secrecy; After all, life would be a nightmare with the whole world knowing his secret - he was a vampire.

Only a few people knew this: his parents and his tutor - he was restricted from leaving the house. This was due to the reputation of vampires in St Helens; people thought he was an evil, nasty creature who meant terror if he was unleashed.

However, after years of persuading his mum and dad to let him live like a normal teenager, the day had finally come when he was allowed to leave the house for the first time. He was over the moon with happiness as he ran out onto the lush, green grass. He spent the whole day roaming around, making the most of every second. He was having lunch in MacDonald’s when suddenly he felt his fangs tingling. It couldn’t be a good sign- last time it happened- which was ages ago -  he had gone completely insane.

Rushing home like a cheetah on fire, he barged the door open and ran in, immediately locking the door behind him. He gave a sigh of relief as he sat down to watch the news, and to his shock, the news reporter was talking about strange disappearances around St Helens, and Mark could relate to all the places- they were exactly where he went. Terrified, he bolted back to his room and locked the door- he was never going to leave the house again.

The next day, though, the horror continued, just that all the disappearances were happening down Mark’s road. To his utter disappointment, Mark tiredly traipsed down the stairs and admitted to his mum that he believed he was responsible for all this. His fangs had tingled outside the house, which couldn’t be a good sign.

This carried on for days until the whole community was nearly gone. However, on a cold night in January, Mark noticed an eerie glow from outside and went to investigate. He gasped and looked up- there was a massive space craft there, with a nasty-looking alien standing proudly beside it. Adrenaline pumping round his body, Mark lashed out at the alien with the sudden realisation that he was the one causing the disturbances round town. He sunk his fangs deep into the alien’s jelly- like body, deeper and deeper, until a big SPLASH came. The alien had exploded and the citizens of St Helens were free. All thanks to Mark Butterscotch.

After this memorable event, the reputation of vampires was fixed and Mark could be who he truly was.