Chapter 8 : The Two Men

Fry Words 175 – 200 : try   kind    hand  picture    again    change    off    play    spell     air    away    animal    house    point    page    letter    mother    answer    found    study    still    learn    should    America    world

The place looked like an animal house. Bill wished he could wave his hand and cast a magic spell to change everything back the way it was.

On the floor in his study among the broken glass and destroyed circuit boards, Bill found a three page letter from his mother that he'd forgotten to answer. He held in his shaking hand a picture of his father that his mother had sent with the letter. His father was in his thirties, before Bill had been born, and was outside the house, standing still looking away off into the distance. The letter said that his mother thought Bill should stay at home on Earth and study and learn about farming in America – not go off to another world. But he had been too stubborn to change.

Bill folded up the letter, put it with the photo in his back pocket and stood with his hands on his hips looking round at his laboratory. He didn't know what to do.

Maybe his mother had been right.

Suddenly, with a hiss a hot laser blast streaked past him and hit the wall above his head. He jerked round in shock to see two men outside the door coming towards him through the smoke with their blasters raised. With a cry Bill dived behind a counter and crawled on hands and knees to the other end of the lab as more laser blasts caused broken glass and sparks to rain down on his back and shoulders, burning his neck, and cutting his hands.

Who are these men? He thought. What are they looking for? Why are they trying to kill me?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

Copyright © Chris Young 2018

Photo Credit : https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-and-white-man-young-lonely-48566/

Chapter 7 : The Indian Boy

Fry Words 201 – 225 : every   near   add   food   between   own below   country   plant – planted   last   school   father   keep   tree never   start   city   earth   eye   light   think – thought   head   under story   see - saw

As Bill walked back to his laboratory, something made him think about his father. They used to wake up early every morning when the light was cool and clear, and plant seeds under the earth together on the farm in the country to grow their own food, and sometimes they planted trees near the house, between the fields. Then his father would work all day while Bill was at school in the city. He started school at 8am every day and studied until 8pm at night, so he never saw his father again until bedtime, when his eyes were closing and he put his heavy head down on the pillow and his father read him a story.

Bill used to climb under the covers in his warm safe bed and he thought, “I hope this will keep going and last forever.”

When Bill arrived at his laboratory he found that his door was a little open.

He stopped. He had added a lock two weeks ago, and it now lay broken on the floor below the handle.

He pushed the door gently with his finger and it squeaked open.

Inside, darkness.

A laboratory

There was no sound, except for his own breathing and the beating of his heart.

“What's going on?” he thought. Suddenly he noticed a small figure move in the darkness behind a unit, which was covered in broken computers and smashed monitors.

“Oh,” Bill thought. “All my equipment! It's been destroyed!”

Just then the figure ran at him, trying to squeeze past and through the door, but Bill caught him by the scruff of his neck.

It was an Indian boy! He stared up at Bill snarling and spitting like a wild animal, before grabbing the piece of paper from his hand and kicking him in the leg. “Ow!” Bill shouted. Then he twisted from Bill's grip and ran off.

Bill watched him go. “Wait!” he called, but the boy disappeared into the dark trees.

With a sigh Bill entered his laboratory and switched on the light. Everything had been destroyed. His computers, his hard drives, his files. All his life's work – gone!

© Chris Young 2018

The Story of Bill : Chapter 1 : The English Scientists

This is the first chapter of a story I wrote recently to help a 12 year old Polish boy at school in P7 here in Scotland improve his literacy skills. It's designed to help children read the page 5 words from a file called Fry Frequently Used Word List 1-600. Using key words to write sentences or even a story is a great way to help students or anyone with reading, writing and vocabulary. I've started at the back and come forwards so it should get easier as we go.

The story doesn't make much sense yet, but the point isn't about how good the story is, it's about reading the words and getting used to them in context, even if it's a weird one.

Chapter One : The English Scientists

Bill suddenly felt it can't matter too much. Perhaps the object built in the town square was made of a special, heavy material that included power in its six dark, round objects.

Am I able to rule among the thousands of people? He thought in his own language. Will I be full, filled with the power that comes from these round shapes? He stood at the base of the building and looked up. The heat from the six circles made them glow in the night. He reached out and touched one. It was dry and warm and his hand went deep inside the material, like a sponge.

But he felt no different.

I don't understand, he thought. These common people need a strong government system, not one made by English scientists.

He ran quickly around the island's streets, looking out at the deep, green sea and feeling the hot stars as if inches from his face. Suddenly he saw a boat-plane come in to land on the surface of the ocean, but he decided to stay and rest behind a building. As he watched, a person came out of the flying machine – the third he had seen in a week. Ten days ago, the English scientists had come in their machines with wheels, but even though they tried to explain - why did they bring their large, square boxes of magic? Their equations were not yet clear.

The fact was, in minutes he would be inches deep in the street, which was made of the same dark material as the orbs, so he finally decided to run to them, down the road and through the waves, taking nothing, and when he reached the boat-plane, climbed carefully inside.

The heat-filled engine of the flying machine sounded strong and powerful.

“Did you bring it?” a voice asked in English.

Bill looked behind him and saw a tall person with a fine beard. “Oh,” he said quickly, but could not finish the sentence. How can he explain? How can he make them understand? Will this boat-plane not finally fly? he thought.

But the person said, “I am a scientist. It cannot matter,” and looked out the window at the deep green waves of the ocean.

Bill looked at the streets and the roads and the building in the square with its six large black balls where he had stood minutes ago. He could have shown him them. He wanted to stay. He decided if he wanted the power of the thousands to make a new government he would have to wait.

The engine made a strong noise and the boat plane moved quickly along the surface of the ocean, before slowly rising into the air and turning left towards the full, heavy moon...

Questions

1) Who do you think Bill is?
2) What do you think the six balls in the square do?
3) Who are the English Scientists?
4) What does Bill want to do?


Read Chapter 2 : Song Of War
Read Chapter 3 : The Plan



Read Chapter 4 : Bill's Ship Sails
Read Chapter 5 : Talk To Animals.

Story © Chris Young 2018

Image credit : http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Luna-Reflection-Sea-Superluna-Night-Super-Water-1826849