Nowhere Boys by Elise Mccredie

and Felix gulping down the food. He might not be Bear Grylls, but this feast wasn’t a bad effort.
    A dark shadow suddenly passed across the sun and the bright day turned grey.
    The boys looked up at the sky. From somewhere came the sound of a long, low howl. They looked at each other nervously. What was that?
    ‘Probably just the panther come to get Andy,’ said Jake, trying to make light of it.
    The slow, mournful howl came again. This time it sounded closer.
    ‘We should go inside,’ said Felix, putting down his chopsticks.
    A breeze started moving in the trees around them as they got to their feet. The wind picked up, gathering force. It whipped around them in circles, lifting twigs and bark off the ground.
    ‘It’s the twister again!’ yelled Jake, as the wind circled and howled.
    Andy tried to move. He put a leg out in front of him, but the wind was so strong now it forced his leg back. The others were fighting against the wind too, trying desperately to reach the shack.
    There was another spine-chilling howl. Louder this time, like it was right next to them. Andy’s hair stood on end, and he turned to see a hooded figure standing motionless in the forest.
    ‘There!’ he yelled above the wind to the others. ‘There’s something there!’
    The others turned to look, but the figure had gone.
    Andy shut his eyes. He didn’t believe in ghosts. Ghosts couldn’t be proven. They weren’t scientific. They were just imagined.
    He opened his eyes again and this time, the figure was closer. A black hood shielded its eyes, but Andy knew what it was. The hungry ghost. He opened his mouth and screamed.
    For a second, the wind died down. The leaves and twigs fell to earth and the strange figure disappeared.
    ‘Get inside. Quick! ’ yelled Felix.
    They bolted for the door of the shack. As soon as they reached it, the wind picked up again. Stones and sticks flew at them.
    Sam struggled with the latch. ‘It won’t open!’
    Andy glanced over his shoulder, terrified.
    Another howl. So loud now it seemed to shake the roof of the shack.
    Felix and Jake threw themselves at the door, and the catch finally released. They raced inside and Sam slammed the door shut. The wind hammered at it, almost like it was determined to get in. Felix and Jake pulled some old planks of wood across to hold it shut, while Andy and Sam piled every heavy object in the shack up against it.
    The roof of the shack creaked and wailed with the wind. The eerie howling got louder and louder.
    Felix lit the gas lantern and the boys huddled together on their sleeping bags. Andy stared at the flickering light of the lantern. He tried to calm his thoughts. He didn’t believe in ghosts. He only believed in the rational. The provable. It was just a storm. That’s all it was.
    The boys moved closer together, embarrassed by their fear.
    ‘Man, this is so messed up,’ said Sam, putting his head in his hands.
    The whole shack started to shake as thunder boomed overhead.
    Lightning flashed through the window, and in that second, Andy saw his utter terror reflected on the others’ faces.
    ‘There’s something out there,’ Felix murmured. ‘But I don’t think it’s strong enough to get in.’
    ‘Gee, thanks dude. That’s so comforting,’ said Jake.
    They all bunched closer together, too scared to say any more.
    After what seemed like hours, the howling died down, replaced by the more comforting sound of rain beating steadily down on the tin roof. One by one, the exhausted boys dropped off to sleep.
    Andy lay in his sleeping bag, thinking about how much he’d wanted adventure. How he’d pleaded with his family to let him go on the excursion. He’d longed to be stuck in the wild with only his wits to protect him. What a fool.
    If someone gave him the choice now between being an over-protected Singaporean kid with a belly full of food, or being stuck out here in the bush with ghosts wailing outside – well, he knew which one he’d choose.

    Andy