Continuous Writing: Sample - Narrative

I was strapped in my seat
I was strapped in my seat, ready for takeoff. There was a deep rumbling sound as the engines prepared to start. My hands clenched the armrest, sweating in excitement. I heard a countdown. Beside me, Allan screamed in uncontrolled joy. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blastoff! We looked ahead, and the vehicle lurched forward, and suddenly we were shot like a dart towards the stars. Our jaws vibrated and we screamed, feeling the gravity pulling down on our bodies.

Suddenly, the craft shook, and we saw laser bursts right in front of our screen. The computer announced that we received damage on one of our rockets. Allan looked at me in fear; he did not expect this to happen. We saw spacecraft of unknown origins flying towards us, then suddenly there was a bright flash and an explosion. Sparks flew around us and smoke sprayed out of broken pipes. Allan and I were shocked, unable to do anything as we were strapped tight. We watched horror as our craft turned sideways and we fell back towards earth.

As we fell down, we could feel the heat of the craft as it burned through the atmosphere. The vibration shook our jaws once more, and we screamed in anticipation of what would happen if we hit the ground. Suddenly the computer uttered some jargon, and our descent slowed down. We slowed down then glided safely to our base, visible in a distance. There was a voice, and it told us that they will bring us into their base for repairs. There was another voice, this time its Allan’s “looks like we’re not leaving Earth this time” he said.

We unbuckled our straps and stepped out of the cockpit “That, was the best simulation ride I’ve ever been on!” said Allan. I replied “Yeah totally! It felt so real. Remind me to thank your uncle for a wonderful weekend” Uncle John greeted us not far from here, and we burst into a hailstorm of screams and excitement as we told uncle John about his new simulator ride.

“Escape From earth” was one of the few rides uncle John had designed for his park. It was the state-of-the-art simulation ride and the most advance in the world. There were not many people in this park. It was located in a private island off the coast of Costa Rica. Uncle John is a wealthy businessman, and he had spent almost all of his fortune into this one amusement park.

This park, he claimed, will turn all other theme parks in the world obsolete. The theme park was due to open to the world next year, and I was one of the few who was given the privilege to witness its wonders. Almost everything here is automatic, from conveyor belt sidewalks, to automated burger stalls. There were only a few maintenance workers here and there. This park, cleverly named “The Lost World” was advanced, mysterious and isolated from the world.

Alan and I were cousins. That is why I’m here with him now, on this island where no man once dared to venture in. We were testing out the rides to see how great it is. So far, everything was out of this world. “Journey to The Center of the Earth” was arguably one of the best rides. With the combination of the latest 3D screens and technology, the experience was surreal. We walked into a cave and as we walked further into the cave, we could see changed in the wall as we passed cavemen paintings and fossils. Suddenly we feel down a deep hole and we saw another world, filled with giant trees and animals. We saw a giant tiger about 2 meters tall, then it chased us. We ran into a cave just next to the place we fell from. And suddenly the cave entrance collapsed behind us. We walked straight and then we found ourselves walking out of the same cave we entered.

Uncle John explained that with advance motion sensors and conveyor belts, we had not really moved more that 10 meters from the cave entrance. The tiger was an animation, a robot with lifelike movements. I was impressed beyond my imaginations. From then on, Allan and I were prepared for all 10 rides in the park.

For the next two days, we had fun testing out the various rides. There was the “Speed Demon”, a roller coaster that rocked back and forth with the tracks, and it went in all directions, up, down, left, right, upside down and in a loop at speeds of more than 70 km/h. There was also the “Jungle Survival Boat”, where we had to use special air rifles to fire upon native Indians as they attacked us while we traveled with the river. The native Indians were robotic and they never move in a same way for each ride. Allan shot an Indian with his rifle and the Indian fell with a realistic scream.

At night, we had a scrumptious dinner by the moonlight atop a building that rises over the trees. The roof were open aired, and we could see the island blanketed by a thick layer of mist, so the only thing we could see is the mist and the sky. It gave off a feeling of being in the clouds. Most of the hotel were not completed, but we got a room that was abit larger than mine, and it was luxurious.

Then, faster than we could blink our eye, the day for departure came. Uncle John called us to the deck to go back home with him, as they just came there for an inspection. We were sad to leave this wonderful place, but we got onto the ship, and we looked back at the island in sadness, wondering if we would ever come back to the island again.

Our fears came true when a few months later the news announced about an ice shelt in Antarctica that would soon break off and fall into the sea creating a giant tsunami of about 30 meters high. Uncle John quickly called to evacuate everything on the island to the mainland, with the rides as the top priority.

Workmen worked as quickly as they could and evacuated most of the rides onto a ship. With the tsunami nearing, they could not save most of the rides and the ship left dock just a few hours before the tsunami hit the island, destroying almost everything without mercy. Only the finished part of the hotel survived, the rest of the park were flattened.