Notes

Compo - Determination Draft 2 (or 3?)

1. Diego did not stop. He walked step by step up the mountain trail. He was ahead of his other classmates, who were already out of breath. "Come on! Just one more kilometre!" he encouraged his classmates. Diego had been walking for the past day. He had gone so far, he was determined to climb the last stretch to see the sun rise at the summit.
2. Suddenly, the ground shook violently. Diego turned around to see a boulder 5 times larger than him fly towards his face. He dashed sideways and the boulder missed him by a centimetre. He headed down the mountain with the tour guides and the other classmates. However, not long later, they found a big boulder blocking their path. Diego was determined to escape from this demented rock-throwing hell alive. He huffed and he puffed like the big bad wolf and pushed as hard as he could. However, there was not much a 12 year-old could do to a boulder larger than his classroom. Everyone else joined in, but the boulder stubbornly stood its place.
3. The next day, about fifteen hundred kilometres away at Singapore, Diego's parents were oblivious about the ordeal that their son was in. Mrs Lim, Diego's mother, said, "I wonder how Diego is doing." "I have no idea. Yesterday early morning he was sending me pictures of his surroundings every 30 seconds. Then he said his phone was running out of battery. I have not heard anything from him since then." Mr Lim said, rolling his eyes. He went to the door to collect the newspaper, and after reading the headlines, his eyes widened in horror.
4. "Earthquake in Sabah, Mount Kinabalu. Many climers stranded on mountain, including a group of Primary 6 students." Mrs Lim read the newspaper that her husband handed her. She turned pale. "John, Diego is stranded up there. We have to go up there and save him." she said with firm determination.
5. Diego woke up with his head bandaged. The last thing remembered was seeing a pebble fly down at him. He thought that the pebble was tiny in size compared to those boulders that almost squashed him into a Diego pancake. Unfortunately, the impact of the pebble felt 10 times stronger than when a school bully kicked him in his temple some time ago. Unconsciousness was unavoidable.
6. Diego looked around him. "What is this place?" Just beside him, a classmate called Greg explained that it was a makeshift camp set up by the surviving tour guides to house the injured students. Diego did not feel like listening to Greg talk about who died, so he went outside.
7. "Diego! Diego! Where are you?" Mr and Mrs Lim shouted at the top of their lungs. They had been referring to all the pictures Diego had sent them and had followed them like Hansel and Gretel following the breadcrumbs. Some rescue workers followed behind, thinking that it was a good opportunity to find people to rescue. Unfortunately, the trail of pictures ended. The group were left at a fork, unsure of which path to take. Just then, Mr Lim noticed some footprints in the dirt. "Mary, these are Diego's footprints!" he told his wife, remembering the special shoes Diego had brought for the hike. With new hope and determination, the group followed their new set of breadcrumbs.
8. Diego stopped in his tracks. Was that his imagination, or... "Diego! Where are you?" he heard that faint voice again. "Mom! Dad!" Diego ran as fast as a sabre-toothed tiger. As he turned past the corner, he expected to see his parents, but no. All he saw was that stupid boulder. "Mom? Dad? Where are you?" Diego asked. "Behind the boulder. The rescue workers are breaking the boulder now." Mrs Lim replied. Sure enough, Diego saw cracks appear at the boulder. Suddenly, the ground shook. Diego cursed. Why does the aftershock have to happen now, he thought.
9. Mr and Mrs Lim screamed as the trees around them fell down. A tree missed them by an inch. After the ground stopped shaking, Mr Lim looked behind. He and his wife somehow managed to survive, while the rescuers were all squashed, their helmets offering no protection against those towering trees. Diego, who had lots off practice avoiding boulders, also survived the falling trees. However, he was worried about his parents, who had no practice at all. "Dad! Mom! Are you okay?" Diego shouted. "We are fine, but all the rescue workers are dead! There is no one to break the rock now!" Mrs Lim replied in despair.
10. Diego picked up a sharp rock on the ground as large as his fist and started bashing the boulder with it. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Diego knew he was very close to escaping from the mountain. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. A crack appeared. He would not give up. He would break the rock. No one could stop him. Pure determination burned within him, filling him with adrenaline. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Mr and Mrs Lim heard the noise and understood what was going on. The both picked up rocks and did the same. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Diego's rock shattered, a shard piercing into his hand. However, he did not stop. Instead, he found another suitable rock and used his other hand. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. A group of classmates passed by. "Come on! Help me or call the others!" Diego shouted. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Not long later, a group had gathered, all trying their best to break the boulder. Cracks slowly but surely showed up. The group hit the rock for an hour. Two hours. Other survivors arrived and joined in. Five hours. Finally, the boulder broke into two. Diego was reunited with his parents. Everyone was saved. All because of a strange but powerful force called determination.