Skellig (opening) by Cloud

The evening started off with a harmless game of Truth or Dare, or so I thought it was. The dares were mediocre but soon things started to get very dangerous, quickly. 

Why am I playing this game? What am I doing with these people? Were the thoughts that kept popping into my mind, I could be at home playing with my baby sister. I always seem to find trouble I just can’t help it; it’s in my nature. Why did I have to intervene when one very frightened kid was dared (more like forced) to jump off Skellig Cliff? There was a reason it was called ‘Skellig Cliff’ it was because so many people had died by jumping off it, the sea beneath was full of skeletons; some jumped for dares others to commit suicide. I went up to the kid who dared her and started arguing with them. Stupid, stupid me! That was mistake number one. I ended up getting beaten and thrown to the floor that was when I cut my eyebrow. Warm, fresh blood was running down from my nose. My head hurt so much that I felt dizzy. Why did I decide to do the dare for her? I just can’t mind my own business. Mistake number two.

I couldn’t believe I was standing near the edge of Skellig Cliff about to jump into the cold sea beneath me. Just looking down makes me feel sick. If I jump it will probably be the impact that kills me or I will crack open my head on a rock. I wonder which would be a better way to die. Oh no! I can hear them shouting “Jump!”.

Skellig (opening) by Rhianna

I looked down at the mysterious murky-blue water below. I am literally the unluckiest boy on the planet. All my ancestors are suicidal. I was born to a hippie dad who does bad jokes all of the time, and my mother embarrasses me 24/7. Both of them met here, considering jumping off this ancient, abandoned turret. It brings peace to me now, knowing that they met here, and now I’m alive.

I am not usually this depressed. It’s just that we’ve moved house, and I now have the neighbour from hell: my future self. Nobody actually knows this, of course, except me. I am his splitting image. He has my grey eyes and a sense of trouble about him. I happen to like trouble.

I can’t help but doing bad things. Getting into a ‘heated discussion’ about racism with my PHSE teacher may not have been one of my smartest moves (I sort of got him kicked out of school because I annoyed him so much that he slapped me), but hey, I had a lot to learn since yesterday. Yes. That happened yesterday.

Anyway. The reason I am here is because my family have announced some news. I’m having a new baby sibling. Great. Now my life isn’t even worth living. I have always told myself that I wouldn’t let myself be like my relatives, that I wouldn’t jump off the turret, like all my ancestors did. This house has been in the family for ages. We only moved here because my last relative jumped down. I don’t even know how he managed to jump. He was ninety.

I might jump off here. Why am I living anyway? I’m going to die anyway, so I have nothing to lose. My whole family tree is heaped down there, generation after generation of hysterical people; suicidal cases.

Wait, should I? 

Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. 

As the feathers from the starling murmuration fall down, I make my final decision.

SPLASH!

Skellig Diary Entry by Tyler W

Dear Diary,
Today was a mix up of all emotions; it felt like someone had grabbed: fear ,sadness, happiness and my dad’s lame jokes into a blender; blended everything. Then fed it to me as the worst day of my life.

It all started when we began leaving our old flat, flat 984D Crimson House, Gullig Avenue in my town, we had to lug a lot of furniture down all eight flights of stairs so we were very tired. We dragged everything from my mattress to mum's old plant.
My dad said that the move was for the best and that the flat was too small especially now we are having the baby. Of course we couldn’t have a single conversation without dragging that stupid baby in to it. Honestly that boring baby has been in the lime-light for the last five months and it will be in it for the rest of my life. Every inch of that ride to the new house felt like a mile, all I could think of is how much I would miss all my friends and the area I lived in. I knew it would be hard but that really proved it.
When we finally arrived on Falconer Road my dad was all excited. Which kind of passed it on to me and mum but for the way dad was, anyone would have thought he had bought the house Jamie Lavolorala lived in. Me and my mum were ready to see the house of our lives but what we did see, is what we didn’t see coming.

Stood before our eyes was a run-down terrible old structure, Stig of the Dump lived in a nicer dump than it. There was an old rickety fence hanging on by one hinge. Just beyond the fence was an overgrown garden that had longer grass than the Amazon jungle. The house its self was covered in mould and moss. There were windows missing and bricks crumbling and we couldn’t see the rest of the house due to the overgrown leaves, branches, bushes and trees. I said that it looks like the house was about to fall down (and it did look like it was).
When we had climbed through the dirty garden and arrived inside, I started to explore. The whole house was tatty and disgusting. There was a toilet in the lounge and I asked dad and that was an opportunity for him to use one of his jokes. Dad said that the old man couldn’t move and needed a toilet near him (that part is true) but then he had to say that he died on it as well (that part was false and not funny) Mum did say that he died in the kitchen though. I wasn’t sure how to reply to that. I asked if I could have the room next to the bathroom but the baby had to have that room mum said. Stupid thing! After that I came to the rickety room dad said was mine and came to write this.
 My dad needs me to help him with some more furniture now so that’s it for today.
 Bye diary

Skellig story by Finley

A boy named Michael had been having a terrible day. There had been men watching him at school, when he noticed them, he started running but they were chasing after him because he did something that made them despise him.

Michael had been running in and out of very dark forests. When he stopped to catch a breath, he turned around to see them a few metres away; he sprinted to another forest and started meandering through the old, rotten trees until he came to a halt.

Michael had found a huge crater in the ground with mass of water at the bottom. He walked over to a strange abandoned tower and just looked down. When he turned around to see where they were, he saw them aiming a gun at him, at that moment he heard a gunshot.

One of the men fell to the ground but it made the boy so scared that he jumped off.
Mid-fall he felt his back deforming. 
When he was about to hit the water, he stopped falling and floated back up to ground level.
He looked at his back and noticed that there where wings on his back. When he was flying home he started going very quickly and then he realised that he had super speed as well.
When he got home, he landed and his wings disappeared. When he ran inside he told his parents and they were amazed.

Skellig (opening) by Kirsten

The boy raced past me, barging through the many people in the Friday night rush. He looked lonely and lost, so I decided to follow him: just to make sure he was alright. Whether this was the right idea or not, I don’t know?

I crept up closer to him every time he slowed down to see if he was alright, but as soon as he slowed down he raced off again; each time quicker than the last.

One time I heard him murmuring about him being bullied at school. I felt sympathetic for him. Everyone feels the pain of a school bully. Anyway, he kept running on and on, not stopping once unless he had to.

The one time he did stop was when a paving slab slipped down when he stood on it and he tripped. He hit his nose: it started bleeding immediately after. I bent down to ask him if he was alright, but he got straight up and rushed away.

Obviously I followed him, and that’s how I ended up here. On the castle ruins that overlook the sea.

I stood behind the crumbling ruins, peeping beside them to see his every action.

I gasped. He was positioning himself as if he was going to dive off the edge. Surely he wouldn’t jump off, would he?

He had family at home didn’t he? My brain flashed back to when he was running. He mumbled something about a bully. The bully hadn’t made him want to commit suicide and jump off the edge and kill himself, had it? He stumbled around and prepared himself to jump. I called out for him to stop, but he didn’t listen. Was he going to jump? The question reoccurred every second in my mind. Was he going to die?

But then my questions ended. He jumped off the edge, into the silky, blue water…

He was gone. I felt so guilty. 

Why hadn’t I saved him? 

Why did I let him go?

SKELLIG (opening) by Tia A

There the boy was, standing in the dark gloomy playground with a bunch of bullies around him. After the argument, they had become abusive - the bullies kicked and punched and gave him a nose bleed.
With the hurt inside the boy, he ran, not just running around having fun. He ran and ran fast out of his primary school.
After the boy had run for miles, he stopped at an old ancient ruin which was hanging off a tall cliff and below it was a deep dark blue lake.
The boy walked closer and placed his toes at the very edge. He raised both his arms up like he was going to dive in but he was swaying slowly backwards and forwards.
Surely he must have had questions in his head saying,
“Do I really want my life to be ended?”
“Am I sure I want to jump and be gone forever!”
“Shall I just forget about it and hope that everything will be ok?”

After of rocking for ages, the boy crouched down and …

Skellig diary entry by Jack S

Dear Diary,
I was having a great day when, out of the blue, we suddenly had to move house because there’s a baby coming! It’s all the stupid baby’s fault, that’s the reason we’re moving out!
Once I had packed my things, we finally got to see the house, we drove off and, guess what? It’s a dump! It looks like it could fall down at any second, it probably will, I’m expecting it to anyway.
The baby hasn’t even been born yet and I already hate it, I didn’t get the room I wanted because of it and I’ve had to move house because of it, it’s ruined my life! My bedroom is in the attic, my window doesn’t even have glass in it! Just a gaping hole! Doesn’t help that a fat crow flew in, dad’s temper hasn’t gotten any better either.
There is also a mysterious shed in, what I’m assuming, the back garden, I don’t care if there are just garden tools, I’m going to find out what’s in there!

Michael's Diary by Olivia

Dear Diary,
Today was the worst day of my life I got told that we're moving!! So on the way to ‘the new house’ mum and dad were talking about how everything is going to be perfect with the new baby and everything. I already hate this baby its ruining everything. When we finally get to the house dad's face lit up like he’s eating a big mac from McDonalds.
The house is horrible it looks like its going to fall down. When we actually get into the house after walking through the jungle that’s outside of our ‘lovely house’ as dad likes to call it.

SKELLIG (opening) by Kaycee

There he was, sick of being tortured. All of his life he dealt with being bullied and abused and now he just wanted to die.
He stood at the edge of the ancient ruins…
Max was just about to leave school he put his trainers on, so his shoes didn’t get dirty and he put his bag on. Max was walking home peacefully until he saw James. James was Max’s bully. Max tried to ignore James by walking in another direction, it didn’t work. James ran up to Max and started to hit him and scratch him, James also took Max’s bag and everything that was in it.
Max was frightened and shocked the only place he thought he would be safe if the ‘ancient ruins’. Max loved to go there because it was one of his mum's favourite places, until she died.
Max stood at the edge of the ruins looking over the azure coloured water. He stared to question his life choices to live or die. He chose to DIE! He put his arms up as if he was going to dive in to the water; the thing is… he cannot swim. Max didn’t care that he couldn’t swim he just wanted his life to be over.
Max again was getting his arms ready to dive, he stepped back in fear. Did he really want to die? Max stepped forward again looking over water. He closed his eyes….. HE JUMPED!

Skellig (opening) by Tia M

I was standing on the edge wondering what was going to happen next at school because there was a group of bullies and they bully everyone in the school but I was their favourite so today I got punched in the face and they put me in the dustbin and I didn’t like it.
I had blood running down my nose and my head was bleeding because on the way up I bashed my head. When I got up to the top I looked over the edge and this crumbled old rock I kicked fell into the lake and it was really low down it was a wrecked sculpture and there were rocks pocking out and it was really dangerous and then I heard someone shouting my name but I thought it was just in my head.
I stood on the edge of the cliff with my toes hanging over the edge and I looked down and I was pretty scared but I raised my hands took a deep breath and before I jumped someone shouted my name so I stopped lowered my hands and turned around but there was no one there so I turned and raised my hands again and took a deep breath and I made a decision and jumped.