Rosie Parker and the Cursed Skeleton
by Jazmine Cheung
It was a cold day in the town of Basingstoke. It was the 1st of December (2020) and Rosie, hair tied in a messy ponytail, was playing in the early fallen snow with her friends Mary, who had hazelnut skin and black mousy hair, and Charlie, who hard pale blonde hair and a gentle blush in his cheeks.
‘I bet you can’t hit me with that snow ball!’ Rosie laughed at her friends. Mary had balled lots of snow and attempted to throw some at Rosie. The attempt had failed however and the snow balls ended up hitting Charlie’s next door neighbour in the back of the head. They were at Charlie’s house which was in Kempshott. He had a large garden as well as his next door neighbour, who was now looking grumpily at the snow covered trio, whist rubbing the snow off his bald head.
‘Sorry!’ Mary called over to the neighbour who merely looked at her.
It was 3:30 in the afternoon and Rosie, Charlie and Mary were all inside the house with a big cup of hot chocolate.
‘Mmhmm! Your mum really does make the best hot chocolates, Charlie!’ Exclaimed Rosie. Charlie blushed a bit before taking another sip of his drink. On the news was a report of something happening in town. The news reporter was saying:
‘Yes Ella, there has been sightings of black figures attempting to break into the Willis Museum (located in town) over the past nights. Nobody knows why they want to but all we know is that we won’t let them get away with it! The Willis Museum (built 185 years ago for all of you who didn’t know) has got artefacts and materials from the nineteenth century (when the museum was built).
Make sure to stay away from the Willis Museum and don’t go out alone, we do not know how dangerous these masked figures are.’
‘Do...you..umm...think..that they could be..dangerous?’ Stuttered Charlie fearfully. He was quite a nervous boy but was brave when he believed in himself. The girls (Rosie and Mary) exchanged mocking looks before smiling at Charlie.
‘Don’t worry Charlie! We barely live anywhere near town. Well sort of near but we aren’t as close as you think. So do not worry! We’re gonna be fine.’ They said confidently.
The next morning, the TV reported smashed windows of the Willis Museum and that pillars and all sorts were broken. Nothing was stolen but it looked as if they had attempted to steal something. The TV reporter said that they still had no idea who and where the black figures were but they had been coming everyday.
‘Hey…’ began Rosie, ‘…should we maybe check it out later?’ Rosie’s voice quivered but she looked confident. The other two exchanged frowns.
‘Would it not be dangerous Rosie?’ Mary wondered, looking between Rosie and Charlie at the TV. Rosie shrugged.
Nobody spoke for a while. When it began to darken Rosie went off to her house (in Oakridge) and Mary went to hers (in Old Basing). The sky was dark when they were in bed. It was 9pm.
Smash! The Willis Museum’s left window had been smashed. Two figures stepped inside, carrying large, but empty, sacks. They crept silently along, down some stone steps to an underground area. Bam! Bam!BAM! They hit the right side of the wall three times. A small button appeared. The criminals pressed it 11 times. The stone wall lifted. Swiftly, the pair crept in and stumbled down some more stone steps…
‘OH MY GOODNESS!’ Rosie awoke in a panic. It was midnight. Rosie grabbed her phone and called Mary and Charlie. The three met up on a bus (buses were running all day) and headed into town. Running towards the old Museum, the trio found the smashed windows. Clambering through, they could see shattered glass and stone beneath cabinets bearing historical artefacts.
‘That way!’ Whispered Rosie excitedly. She loved adventures but was very nervous. Mary and Charlie followed obediently although their legs banged shakily next to each other. They crept along to find the secret spiralling stairs with voices murmuring afoot. Charlie cowered behind whereas the girls fought on who led the way. Finally agreeing to go down at the same time, Charlie still cowering behind, as they reached the bottom, a mysterious beating noise sounded.
‘Low he, low he! Master find in the soil; laden down with mud. Temperatures rise before it! Uncover your secrets. In the murky mud.’
The walls shook.
‘What on earth is going on!’ Questioned Mary stiffly.
The floor began to rattle.
‘I have no idea! What were those words?’ Rosie replied, voice no different then usual.
Plaster and rocks fell from the ceiling.
‘Well...whatever…it...is…’ Charlie began, ‘...it must be dangerous!’ A chill ran down his spine as he shuddered.
More voices spoke, echoing through the darkness as the trio drew nearer and nearer.
‘I think we found it, Jackshell!’ Came a quiet, excited voice.
‘Now, now Pinko, be quiet. Someone’s coming! Retreat!’ Came another voice as the trio descended down the spiralling stairs even further. At the bottom, there was a large pit. It was full of old stones and books. Shadows were moving slightly, around the back. There was a stone wall that didn’t seem to match the archway it was resting in although they almost matched.
‘There’s people!’ Said a voice. Only Rosie heard it though. She could tell the others didn’t hear as they merely flinched nor say anything at all.
Voices grew louder, sounding nearer, until everyone could hear the whispers of the men lingering in the darkness of the room…
Until…
Bam! Two men leapt out.
‘OI! GET OUTTA ‘ERE! I MEAN IT! GET OUTTA ‘ERE!’ Screamed a deep voice. It echoed through the room, causing stones to fall from the ceiling. The scream was almost as if it was some sort of password…
The mismatched frame with the rocky door fell apart, leading to a small ditch. From where she was standing, Rosie could see glittering glints of gold piling up beyond a skinny person sitting there. Well it wasn’t really a person… it seemed to be a body. But it looked different. Skeletal. Then it clicked. It was a skeleton.
Two men stood by the fallen rocks: one tall and lanky, the other short and plump. They both sported matching old ragged t-shirts with ketchup stains that looked years old and grey beanies upon their balding heads.
‘PINKO! ITS MASTER! PINKO! PINKO!’ Cried a horse voice. Pinko (the tall lanky one’s) eyes widened in shock as he began to creap nearer to the wreckage.
‘The body of Mr Robin Catter, the famous secret agent. Died whilst finding the cursed gold. The one who touches the cursed gold becomes cursed and dies.’ Said Pinko in a feeble voice.
Charlie, Mary and Rosie still stood, speechless. Nobody said anything for several minutes until Rosie said:
‘I read about Mr Catter. Nobody knew where he went. He was lost. They only knew he had died, but how?’
Everyone waited for a few moments, taking every word in. Then Charlie broke the silence with a cough. All heads turned to his pale face.
‘S-s-shouldn’t we be umm g-g-going n-n-now?’ He stuttered.
Mary nodded her head, eyes turning to Rosie.
‘Why were you here.’ She said through gritted teeth. Rosie pulled a sour face at the two men. Jackshell (the short plump of the pair) pulled a sour face back before answering, ‘Nun ya biz’ kid.’ before hastily pulling out large gardening gloves.
‘Call the police.’ Mouthed Mary to Rosie behind the criminals backs. Rosie obeyed, scurrying into a different room, one less crumbly before taking her phone out of her pocket. Hastily dialling a number, with fumbling fingers she whispered down the phone line:
‘Hello? Police please!
There was a small click before Rosie started again,
It’s Rosie Parker here! I am at the Willis Museum (Basingstoke) and we have found the criminals that have been breaking into the museum each night!’
There was a pause before the lady down the telephone said:
‘Stay where you are and keep the criminals under control. Police officers will be right over.’
With that, the phone cut out and Rosie speed walked back through to stand in-between Mary and Charlie. The criminals were stuffing the coins into their bin bag sacks.
Since the curse had been passed onto poor Mr Catter, the could be touched, although a couple of the coins were still cursed. This made things difficult for the criminals to identify which ones were which. Cursed coins are always the coins that are colder than a freezer. If held for over 30 seconds (bare handed) the consequence would be death. Gloves only hold up time a little bit. They can still cause death but not as quickly.
Five minutes later, the police showed up. Too busy sorting coins, the pair of men had no idea the police were there until they heard heavy footsteps drawing closer and closer. But before they could dash away, Charlie and Mary had cornered them and Rosie drew nearer to the middle so the criminals couldn’t get away there.
The police had dashed in and took out there hand cuffs. The tall lanky man, Pinko, put his hands up in the air, but the short plump one, Jackshell, started running. Luckily the police had placed traps at every exit so the men could not get away. They were trapped.
The police cuffed the men and led them into the police van. Only the police were able to interact with the traps. Other police cleared all of the golden treasures but the skeletal figure still remains.
‘Ahh finally some peace today!’ Sighed Rosie as she clambered into bed. It was seven a.m. and she had been out all night. ‘Time for a good nights sleep.’
With that, she drifted off to sleep.
by Jazmine Cheung
It was a cold day in the town of Basingstoke. It was the 1st of December (2020) and Rosie, hair tied in a messy ponytail, was playing in the early fallen snow with her friends Mary, who had hazelnut skin and black mousy hair, and Charlie, who hard pale blonde hair and a gentle blush in his cheeks.
‘I bet you can’t hit me with that snow ball!’ Rosie laughed at her friends. Mary had balled lots of snow and attempted to throw some at Rosie. The attempt had failed however and the snow balls ended up hitting Charlie’s next door neighbour in the back of the head. They were at Charlie’s house which was in Kempshott. He had a large garden as well as his next door neighbour, who was now looking grumpily at the snow covered trio, whist rubbing the snow off his bald head.
‘Sorry!’ Mary called over to the neighbour who merely looked at her.
It was 3:30 in the afternoon and Rosie, Charlie and Mary were all inside the house with a big cup of hot chocolate.
‘Mmhmm! Your mum really does make the best hot chocolates, Charlie!’ Exclaimed Rosie. Charlie blushed a bit before taking another sip of his drink. On the news was a report of something happening in town. The news reporter was saying:
‘Yes Ella, there has been sightings of black figures attempting to break into the Willis Museum (located in town) over the past nights. Nobody knows why they want to but all we know is that we won’t let them get away with it! The Willis Museum (built 185 years ago for all of you who didn’t know) has got artefacts and materials from the nineteenth century (when the museum was built).
Make sure to stay away from the Willis Museum and don’t go out alone, we do not know how dangerous these masked figures are.’
‘Do...you..umm...think..that they could be..dangerous?’ Stuttered Charlie fearfully. He was quite a nervous boy but was brave when he believed in himself. The girls (Rosie and Mary) exchanged mocking looks before smiling at Charlie.
‘Don’t worry Charlie! We barely live anywhere near town. Well sort of near but we aren’t as close as you think. So do not worry! We’re gonna be fine.’ They said confidently.
The next morning, the TV reported smashed windows of the Willis Museum and that pillars and all sorts were broken. Nothing was stolen but it looked as if they had attempted to steal something. The TV reporter said that they still had no idea who and where the black figures were but they had been coming everyday.
‘Hey…’ began Rosie, ‘…should we maybe check it out later?’ Rosie’s voice quivered but she looked confident. The other two exchanged frowns.
‘Would it not be dangerous Rosie?’ Mary wondered, looking between Rosie and Charlie at the TV. Rosie shrugged.
Nobody spoke for a while. When it began to darken Rosie went off to her house (in Oakridge) and Mary went to hers (in Old Basing). The sky was dark when they were in bed. It was 9pm.
Smash! The Willis Museum’s left window had been smashed. Two figures stepped inside, carrying large, but empty, sacks. They crept silently along, down some stone steps to an underground area. Bam! Bam!BAM! They hit the right side of the wall three times. A small button appeared. The criminals pressed it 11 times. The stone wall lifted. Swiftly, the pair crept in and stumbled down some more stone steps…
‘OH MY GOODNESS!’ Rosie awoke in a panic. It was midnight. Rosie grabbed her phone and called Mary and Charlie. The three met up on a bus (buses were running all day) and headed into town. Running towards the old Museum, the trio found the smashed windows. Clambering through, they could see shattered glass and stone beneath cabinets bearing historical artefacts.
‘That way!’ Whispered Rosie excitedly. She loved adventures but was very nervous. Mary and Charlie followed obediently although their legs banged shakily next to each other. They crept along to find the secret spiralling stairs with voices murmuring afoot. Charlie cowered behind whereas the girls fought on who led the way. Finally agreeing to go down at the same time, Charlie still cowering behind, as they reached the bottom, a mysterious beating noise sounded.
‘Low he, low he! Master find in the soil; laden down with mud. Temperatures rise before it! Uncover your secrets. In the murky mud.’
The walls shook.
‘What on earth is going on!’ Questioned Mary stiffly.
The floor began to rattle.
‘I have no idea! What were those words?’ Rosie replied, voice no different then usual.
Plaster and rocks fell from the ceiling.
‘Well...whatever…it...is…’ Charlie began, ‘...it must be dangerous!’ A chill ran down his spine as he shuddered.
More voices spoke, echoing through the darkness as the trio drew nearer and nearer.
‘I think we found it, Jackshell!’ Came a quiet, excited voice.
‘Now, now Pinko, be quiet. Someone’s coming! Retreat!’ Came another voice as the trio descended down the spiralling stairs even further. At the bottom, there was a large pit. It was full of old stones and books. Shadows were moving slightly, around the back. There was a stone wall that didn’t seem to match the archway it was resting in although they almost matched.
‘There’s people!’ Said a voice. Only Rosie heard it though. She could tell the others didn’t hear as they merely flinched nor say anything at all.
Voices grew louder, sounding nearer, until everyone could hear the whispers of the men lingering in the darkness of the room…
Until…
Bam! Two men leapt out.
‘OI! GET OUTTA ‘ERE! I MEAN IT! GET OUTTA ‘ERE!’ Screamed a deep voice. It echoed through the room, causing stones to fall from the ceiling. The scream was almost as if it was some sort of password…
The mismatched frame with the rocky door fell apart, leading to a small ditch. From where she was standing, Rosie could see glittering glints of gold piling up beyond a skinny person sitting there. Well it wasn’t really a person… it seemed to be a body. But it looked different. Skeletal. Then it clicked. It was a skeleton.
Two men stood by the fallen rocks: one tall and lanky, the other short and plump. They both sported matching old ragged t-shirts with ketchup stains that looked years old and grey beanies upon their balding heads.
‘PINKO! ITS MASTER! PINKO! PINKO!’ Cried a horse voice. Pinko (the tall lanky one’s) eyes widened in shock as he began to creap nearer to the wreckage.
‘The body of Mr Robin Catter, the famous secret agent. Died whilst finding the cursed gold. The one who touches the cursed gold becomes cursed and dies.’ Said Pinko in a feeble voice.
Charlie, Mary and Rosie still stood, speechless. Nobody said anything for several minutes until Rosie said:
‘I read about Mr Catter. Nobody knew where he went. He was lost. They only knew he had died, but how?’
Everyone waited for a few moments, taking every word in. Then Charlie broke the silence with a cough. All heads turned to his pale face.
‘S-s-shouldn’t we be umm g-g-going n-n-now?’ He stuttered.
Mary nodded her head, eyes turning to Rosie.
‘Why were you here.’ She said through gritted teeth. Rosie pulled a sour face at the two men. Jackshell (the short plump of the pair) pulled a sour face back before answering, ‘Nun ya biz’ kid.’ before hastily pulling out large gardening gloves.
‘Call the police.’ Mouthed Mary to Rosie behind the criminals backs. Rosie obeyed, scurrying into a different room, one less crumbly before taking her phone out of her pocket. Hastily dialling a number, with fumbling fingers she whispered down the phone line:
‘Hello? Police please!
There was a small click before Rosie started again,
It’s Rosie Parker here! I am at the Willis Museum (Basingstoke) and we have found the criminals that have been breaking into the museum each night!’
There was a pause before the lady down the telephone said:
‘Stay where you are and keep the criminals under control. Police officers will be right over.’
With that, the phone cut out and Rosie speed walked back through to stand in-between Mary and Charlie. The criminals were stuffing the coins into their bin bag sacks.
Since the curse had been passed onto poor Mr Catter, the could be touched, although a couple of the coins were still cursed. This made things difficult for the criminals to identify which ones were which. Cursed coins are always the coins that are colder than a freezer. If held for over 30 seconds (bare handed) the consequence would be death. Gloves only hold up time a little bit. They can still cause death but not as quickly.
Five minutes later, the police showed up. Too busy sorting coins, the pair of men had no idea the police were there until they heard heavy footsteps drawing closer and closer. But before they could dash away, Charlie and Mary had cornered them and Rosie drew nearer to the middle so the criminals couldn’t get away there.
The police had dashed in and took out there hand cuffs. The tall lanky man, Pinko, put his hands up in the air, but the short plump one, Jackshell, started running. Luckily the police had placed traps at every exit so the men could not get away. They were trapped.
The police cuffed the men and led them into the police van. Only the police were able to interact with the traps. Other police cleared all of the golden treasures but the skeletal figure still remains.
‘Ahh finally some peace today!’ Sighed Rosie as she clambered into bed. It was seven a.m. and she had been out all night. ‘Time for a good nights sleep.’
With that, she drifted off to sleep.
