The Epilogue-Kakepuku Myth

Thousands of years ago there was a tribe of octopus.

They lived happily on the empty land of what is now the Waikato Basin.

These were no ordinary octopus.

They were giant and came from out-of-space.

After many years of living on land without any problems a tribe of Maori Shaman arrived.

The octopus were driven out of their supposed home and sent back to their 'real' home.

All except one small octopus.

He wasn't scared of the Shaman though he should have been.

The magical Shaman put a mountain on top of him where he lay alive, slowly dying.

However despite his weakness (been stuck under a mountain) he managed to send out a signal to his home.

Three weeks later a shaman drove a spear through a hole above him.

The flesh of the octopus slowly decade leaving only a skeleton to tell his tail.

This skeleton happens to be the cavern with eight tunnels featuring in this story.

Three-thousand years later the signal reaches home and the mother of the octopus came back to earth on a comet.

When it arrives and finds its son dead it tries to kill the people until it is killed by Skipper Bob (who found a necklace which gave her powers).

This is the Kakepuku Myth.

Photo Reference:Google Images-library.thinkquest.org/J001418/media/octopus.JPG

The ending

I awake to a white room.

I scream.

"Where am I?!"

My cousins run to me.

"I'n napier. In the hospital."

I suddenly can't hold myself any more.

Tears rush from my eyes.

Suddenly I remember something else.

"The date!" I scream.

"The date!"

"The 6th of november."

"How how is that possible. That means that tommorow I'm 12."

"The trip up Kakepuku on the 16th of February. I was on Kakepuku for...."

"Thirteen days" My uncle says.

"Then..."

"You were in a coma for 8 months."

"No."

Yes!"

This is the ending.

This is my story.

This is my life.

Photo Reference:Google Images-tolkiengateway.net/w/images/thumb/f/f9/Ted_Na...300 x 451 - 27k

Day 13 Diary

Darkness.

My life so happy but now so...so dark!
I feel like I'm stuck in a dream only I can't wake up.
My eyes flicker open.

Darkness.

Shut.

Darkness.
Why me?!

I open my mouth to scream but no sound comes out.

I try to move my arms, throwing them in the air.
I force myself up.
Suddenly I can see again.
A carpet of red bathes the normal lime green grass.
A ruff rope lies a bit further onwards looking like its just been flung that way.

I look round and see a smallish pond.
My hand moves to my parched throat.
I stand shakily and take a wobbly step forward, then another and another until I’m running towards the water.
I freeze.
As I stare into the murky water I see a stranger stare back.
My hair is longer and is an absolute mess after…after a long time without a hairbrush.
My face.
Deep cuts cover my mouth.
My eyes are bloodshot and my cheeks white.

I avert my eyes and lower my lips to the water.

As I once again look around I’m in a kind-of clearing.
Bush and shrub surround me but no trees.
I begin to walk away when I here the low drown of a helicopter.
I freeze.
A blue rescue helicopter hovers above me.
It begins to drop lower and lower until finally landing on the ground a few metres away from me.

Relief sweeps over me as I see a medic come running towards me.

“Is anyone else with you?” He says in an urgent, ruff voice.
“No.” I say to find my curtain voice shaky.
“Age?”
“11”
“Any relatives?”
“Napier”
“Last name?”
I shake my head.
“I can’t remember!”
He sighs and carry’s me to the helicopter.
He hands me a warm drink and tells me to drink it.
I do.

I fell myself slide slowly but surly into a unwanted deep sleep.

Day 6 Diary

I awake to the sound of flapping wings.

I gasp as I see my surroundings; so different to those I'm used to.

My heart is on a highway, racing so fast that its like a constant beat-never pausing.

I look up my eyes scanning the sky for the source of the noise like an eagle scanning the ground for its prey.

I see a clump of creatures hovering above me like a grey storm-cloud hanging above a cartoon.

I panic but then realize that this is normal.

I peer closely at the creatures.

For a moment I thing they're normal but then I see small figures hanging underneath the mob of creatures.

I wait for them to leave but they don't.

They come closer and closer until they land about twenty metres away from the building I'm next to.

Hang on, I'm next to a building.

As I think back to last night I remember other strange things.

The sky.

The moon.

It was full except....except it had a black...a black eye I guess.

Before I can think of anything else I see people running towards me.

Room5ian and Sensational come running up to me.

"Kitty Kat!" They say.

"Guys!" I say back.

"Man this is one big mess!" They reply.

We pass on our story's.

I tell them about every thing.

From the hike up, to the strange moon from last night.

"Wow...that's weird," Room5ian says nervously.

"You look hungry," Sensational says quickly changing the subject.

"I am! I've been living on a diet of monkey tails for the last week!"

"Here," Room5ian says handing me two open cans; one with condensed milk-one with fruit salad.

I gulp them both down so fast that in a second they're both gone.

I fell a warm fuzzy felling in my now full stomach and let myself relax.

The sun shines down on me and before I can stop myself I'm asleep.

Uncertainty fills my body.

My eyes flick open to a darkened sky.

I sit up braking the deadly silence.

Low in the sky to my right is the comet.

It streaks past so fast It looks like a blur to the human eye.

I catch a glimpse of what looks like a giant octopus but before my thoughts can conclude there is a loud splash followed by a huge shock of energy racing through the ground causing me, Room5ian and Sensational to fly through the air landing on the solid ground unconscious.

Photo Reference:Google Images-www.thunderbolts.info/.../060227comet.jpg

Day 5 Diary

Wind whispers through my leaves.

I try to open my eyes but nothing happens.

Yesterdays adventures rush back to me.

My body a tree but my mind still human.

I wonder whether trees sleep.

I figure they must-I slept the whole night through soundlessly.

I feel the sun on the tips of my branches.

Water rushes through my roots like rivers of blood-entirely mine.

The day slips past slowly-but quickly all the same.

"Kitty Kat..." I hear my master the great Elm call.

He whispers to me in tree tongue.

I try to resist his powers-his attempts to turn me into a tree forever but I can't.

I fell my roots lengthen clinging more and more to the slippery earth.

I finally feel his feet retreat and go back to whatever he was doing before now.

I can barely think now.

I can remember who I am but now why I can't move.

Slowly I feel small vibrations in the ground.

They get stronger and stronger until they stop suddenly in front of me.

I listen.

I hear nothing so I slip back into my dream.

I've just got to thinking about how nice the sun feels on my tips when I feel myself beginning to change.

My branches grow shorter, along with my roots and trunk.

I feel my hands return followed by my legs, head, hair and every other part of me.

I gasp as air fills my lungs.

I see Imij standing on front of of me but my instinct takes over and I run.

I don't know where I'm running or why.

After what seems like hours I arrive at an empty Pa site.

Dusk is falling and I find some more Monkey Tails to eat for dinner.

I lie down on the hard ground to sleep but bad thoughts drift through my mind.

I'm awake until midnight-or later but eventually, I fall asleep.

Photo Referance:Google Images-www.plantwise.co.nz/graphics/monkey_tail.jpg

Day 4 Cont.

We wait for an hour then two.

No-one appears...

We decide to follow the spider down another tunnel.

Its a straight path with flat ground so its easy going.

After five minutes we enter what seems like a circular room.

I see several white bundles all over the ground.

'Mummies?' I, think my brain warped from this entire experience.

I never used to think mummies were real...I realize that they aren't mummies but something entirly different ...spider meals.

I start to run toward the other tunnel..

"NO KITTY KAT!" Skipper Bob calls.

"LOOK WHAT I FOUND."

Shes holding a small stick with a knob on the end.

I reach out for it and Skipper Bob hands it to me.

I wait for an amazing thing to happen but it just feels like a piece of wood.

"Can you feel it tingle?"Skipper Bob asks.

"Um...well...actualy no. I don't really feel a thing."

We ponder this for a moment then head of into the tunnel in case the spider returns.

We stop in another small room and have a drink of our water.

We are about to leave when we here voices.

Another group bursts around the corner.

They freeze in there tracks then start screaming.

We sit down and tell the others everything that has happened to us since this hole thing began. They share there story as well. After our small group reunion we head back to the cavern.

We decide to try and use our sticks-which the others claim to be magical staffs-to try and cross the lake.

Skipper Bob goes first.

She points her stick at the lake.

Nothing happens.

We all groan in despair; only three staffs left-three chances of survival.

Chocolate Lover tries next.

Yet again nothing happens.

She tries again and again.

Bone Breaker steps up to try his staff.

Nothing happens at first but then I see ripples appear on the lakes surface.

The stick is shaking madly causing the ground to vibrate, sending us all to our feet.

I pull myself shakily upright and peer into the water.

I see a thin layer of ice on the murky ponds surface.

Bone Breaker steps onto the ice, then signals for us to follow.

I slide down onto the ice.

I take one shaky step and slip over.

Pain shoots through my ankle.

I pull myself to my feet.

I watch Chocolate lover and Skipper Bob smoothly follow me avoiding the spot I slipped.

Shorty starts to climb down.

She lands safely but then slips; landing hard on her right ankle.

Garlandrosie lands safely and steps to meet us.

I turn and begin to limp along the growing ice path.

Suddenly I hear Garlandrosie scream.

Before I can turn to see whats happened,i hear a splash and the screams meaning becomes clear.

I turn to see Garlandrosie flailing madly in the water.

Chocolate lover carefully makes her way to the edge of the ice and sticks her staffs tip in the water.

"Grab this!" She calls.

We help Chocolate lover to pull her out of the water.

Her leg is bleeding from what looks like an eel bite.

Bone Breaker pours whisky onto her wound.

Chocolate lover helps her to her feet.

We limp on.

We come to an opening in the ceiling of the cavern.

We pull ourselves up and into what looks like a Nikau Grove.

We look around glad to be free of the tunnels and caves.

We start to walk forward, into the thick of the trees.

"Kitty Kat.........Kitty Kat....." An earthy voice calls.

I find myself drawn to my name.

I walk closer and closer to the source.

I feel a breeze blow gently on my face.

My hands go dry.

Before I can turn to look at them my neck and face stiffen.

I try to move but my feet are bound to the ground. I try to open my eyes, to see, to see anything!

But I can't.

My mind is racing trying to put a finger on something, anything which could explain this strange claustrophobic felling. The only idea I have is unbelievable but the more I think about it the more likely it seems.

I am a tree.

Day Three/Overnight/Four Diary

Day Three
A low rumbling hits the air. I groan in my sleep and roll over.

"Kitty Kat!!" I hear someone call.

"Be quiet Mum," I mumble.

"No Kitty Kat its me, WAKE UP!"

I finally snap awake. An ear bursting noise hits my ears. It rumbles making the entire ground vibrate. I hear Skipper Bob burst into tears beside me but then the sound stops and we all snap to earth.

We decide to follow the sound but prepare ourselves well firsts.

We get sticks and sharpen there points.

Ms Candy takes the knife and we set off.

Again we slit trees but its harder work as we're carrying all of our gear.

After a while we come across a huge rock with what looks like a small cave entrance in the middle.

We decide to carry on and find a better place to camp.

We come to a clearing but there are animal tracks going through it making it an impossible place to camp.

We look around for a safer place near here but there is nothing.

Eventually we decide to the cave. We throw rocks in to check that the tunnel is safe. We here nothing out of the ordinary so we head in. From the light of our stick we realise that there is a sharp corner. We throw more rocks around the corner. We think it is safe, so we continue.

After another two minutes we find a fork in our path. Right is always luckier so we head down that path. Suddenly, I can't breathe. I'm stuck in a massive, sticky mass. I call out to Skipper Bob behind me. My mind races. Suddenly the place lights up and I can see.

Skipper Bob has lit a match.
Overnight

Ms Candy frantically begins to cut.

After ten minutes shes freed herself and Skipper Bob and begins cutting me free.

Suddenly we hear scuttling.

I'm almost free but we can now see two massive brown hairy legs.

My mind is screaming.

I'm sure I'm about to die.. Suddenly I'm yanked away screaming my head off.

I see two bright yellow eyes looking down on me then darkness.

Day Four

Light hits my eyes.

Skipper Bob and Ms Candy are crouching next to me.

I groan.

"What happened?" I ask, my words all slurred.

"Spider bite," Skipper Bob says.

My side aches as they help me to my feet.

I notice a necklace around my neck but I'm too weak to ask what it's for.

We walk slowly but I can tell Skipper Bob and Ms Candy are in a rush.

We find ourselves in a cavern, there's a high pole with a small platform on the top in the middle of a small lake.

I think I can see a small box on top of the platform but I am not sure.

Skipper Bob and Ms Candy begin to whisper to each other.

I sit down on the bank of the lake and watch the water lap at my feet.

I see Ms Candy wade into the lake and Skipper Bob sits down next to me.

"She's going to swim to the platform, in the middle, "Skipper Bob tells me.

We sit silently and watch Ms Candy.

After a few long minutes shes almost reached the edge of the platform.

Then we see them.

Four no five no six long black snake like figures swimming towards Ms Candy.

They must be a giant eel of some sort, we can tell that from the slithering movement of the creatures body.

Ms Candy pulls herself from the lake just in time.

She stands and turns to us.

We hold our breaths.

She waves and me and Skipper Bob finally relax.

She climbs up the platform then opens the box.

We see her rummage around inside then stand once more and dive of, into the water, out of our site.

End of Day Three/Overnight/Four Diary
Photo Referance: Google Images: www.unifiedworlds.com/FranklinGypsumCave_entr...

Day 2 Diary

When we awake we sit around the newly lit fire and eat a small amount of our butter-sugar mix. We then have a small group meeting.

We decide will will look for other groups as the bigger the group the less the work.

We take our knife to mark the trees as we go-a brilliant plan of Skipper Bob's.
We walk for what seems like days.
"We're not getting anywhere," Ms Candy complains.
"Yeah,' I agree.
"We should turn back," Ms Candy says-complaining again.
Skipper Bob is crouching on the ground a few metres away from us. Suddenly she stands and turns around.
"Look what I found!"She calls. Ms Candy takes a wild stab in the dark for the answer.
"Ummmm a curly brown plant...?" She guesses .
"No its a monkey tail!" Skipper Bob explains.
"Ewww yuck where are the monkeys?" Ms Candy screams.
"No, No, No, Skipper Bob says. Its a plant that you can eat. They're only called monkeys tails because that's what they look like. Anyway I think I just found our dinner!"
We return to camp then cook and eat our monkey-tails. The taste was bitter but rather satisfying in our empty stomach's.
I fell myself drifting off into sleep so I numbly walk of to bed.
"NO KITTY KAT!" Ms Candy calls.

"WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO!!!"
I slowly walk back to the camp site and help the others dig a hole to make a water collector. Skipper Bob chucks a bunch of leaves into the pit. I help Ms Candy put rocks around our emergency blanket which is over the pit.

We add one last big rock to the center then walk over to our packs.

We pull out our lunch box and empty the rice from its bag to the lunchbox. We then take the bag that the rice was in over to the pit and put in in the bottom directly under the large stone. We walk over to the hut and lie down. As soon as my head hits the ground I'm asleep.

End of Day 2 Diary

Day 1 Diary

Suddenly I realize that I have to pull myself together. If were lost in the bush, I have to do something. Not cry myself to death!

"Right," I call.

"Lets get moving! We need a good shelter and a fire!"

"I'll gather the wood," Ms Candy calls.

"Okay then, me and Skipper Bob will make a shelter."

We walk over to a large tree.

"The Debris hut would be good," I say, so we begin.

We drag some large branches over. We choose the biggest piece and lean it against the tree. We then lean the rest of the branches against that.

Its surprisingly hard work but me and Skipper Bob press on.

Soon we have added the leaves and have a large enough shelter for all of us. Ms Candy has managed to get a fairly large fire going so we sit and eat a small amount of our food. Were all tired so we decide that the best thing to do is...sleep.

End of day 1