Author Name: Jack Tay
Age: 12
School: Greenridge Primary School

kidnap-2

I used to envy Rachel as she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth until she almost lost her life in a close shave incident. It was then I concluded being opulent may not that great after all…

“Ringggggg!” the school bell resonated.

Rachel , my best friend, and I made a beeline out of the school gate .

“Wow! Isn’t that the latest Levis watch?” I drooled as I lay my pair of desirous eyes on it.

“Oh yes it is , my dad just bought it for me two days ago ,” replied Rachel haughtily.

I always had the thought of how good it would be if I was born into Rachel’s family and I would have all the things I wanted so much.

While we were ambling down the road, out nowhere , a red van came speeding in our direction. It came to complete halt right in front of us and two burly men got down of the van. They were both heavily tattooed on their arms and legs. The duo zoomed towards us and grabbed hold of Rachel. I knew I had to save a damsel in distress. I dashed to the two hulks and tried to haul Rachel back from them.

Unfortunately , instead of getting her back, I was shoved into the back of the van. Before I could even scream for help, one of them raised his right hand and landed a tight slap on my left cheek. That harsh slap was so excruciating that I let out a an ear-piercing scream.

“Shut up! I warn you two for the last time , or else I will put you to sleep!” one of the men admonished us.

“E…er, w…who are you ?” Rachel faltered with fear.

Before I could say another word, the man fired a malicious glare at us and forced two cloths damped with chloroform on our noses. Within seconds, we plunged into a world of darkness…

I opened my eyes and found myself in a dark and dingy room. I tried getting up but found my hands and legs were tied with ropes. I struggled but to no avail.

“W…where is this place? W…where am I ?” a familiar faltering sound came from behind me.

It was Rachel. She was snivelling and sobbing vigorously. I was about to calm her when footsteps and soon the door swung open. They were the two hulks again but this time, they were with a rather gangly bespectacled man.

“U…Uncle! U…Uncle Sam! W…why are you doing this!” Rachel hollered.

“I warn you two had better shut up or else you will be dead!” he threatened.

He then stormed away with the two hulks. Minutes seemed liked hours. Rachel and I were waiting impatiently for someone to come and to rescue us. After a few minutes, Uncle Sam and the two hulks came scampering into the room. I could spot beads of cold sweats form on their foreheads. Again, the door flung open but this time round, the light was so bright which I squinted my eyes. Upon scrutiny, they were police! The police’s arrival was like a soothing balm to us.

The kidnappers started firing shots at the police. Some managed to dodge while some got shot. The police had no other choice but to also fire shoots at them. It was like a war zone with bullets raining the whole room. We cupped our ears and hollered our lungs out in fear. All these went and soon came to an abrupt halt. The kidnappers collapsed onto the ground and lay there in a pool of blood. It was a gory sight!

One of the policemen rushed forward and loosened the ropes for us. He also led us out of the stuffy room. When we got out of the place, our family members were all waiting anxiously for us.

“Dad! Mum!” I cried in disbelief and darted to my parents while beads of tears trickled down my cheeks. The police also elucidated to us that a student had witnessed Rachel and me being shoved into the van and she noted down the car plate number and then summoned the police.

After that terrifying and appalling incident, Rachel explicated to me that the kidnappers were her father’s ex-employees but got sacked because of some mistakes they had made so they wanted to kidnap her for a sum of money. I guess this horrifying ordeal would be etched indelibly in my mind for years to come…


Vocabulary and Good Phrases
born with a silver spoon in her mouth – born into a rich family
opulent – rich
made a beeline – go quickly and directly towards someone or something
resonated – sound continues loudly and clearly for quite sometime
desirous – wanting something very much
haughtily – proudly
burly – strong and big
save a damsel in distress – a male saving a female who is in trouble (Note: it has to be a male saving a female, not a female saving a male)
hulk – a strong and muscular person
excruciating – very painful
admonished – scolded
fired a malicious glare – stare at someone with a cruel look
chloroform – a liquid that makes you become unconscious if you breathe it
dingy – dark, dirty, and in bad condition
gangly and bespectacled – tall and thin person who wore a pair of spectacles
gory – clearly describing or showing violence, blood, and killing
explicated / elucidated – explained
ordeal – a terrible or painful experience that continues for a period of time
etched indelibly – imprinted on your memory and impossible to remove nor forget and you think of it often