The Monster of Canary Bay.

Canary Bay.

Canary Bay was named after the brave little bird that saved the lives of 20 coal miners, about a century ago. The bird's distress call warned the men of the dangerous build-up of gas in the tunnels. They fled, grabbing the canary's cage on the way, and left the mine before the explosion that would have killed them all. The nameless canary was granted his retirement at a coal miner's family home, and the coal mining venture ceased. Those that stayed on turned their hand to farming, and the coal mine tunnels were boarded up and abandoned for good.

There were rumours that the explosion in the mine had caused a creature to appear from deep underground. The creature was said to roam the abandoned tunnels, looking for meat. Dead or alive. In times gone by, people would throw dead animals into the tunnels, so the creature would not venture into the town and eat little children. 

Little children, do not go near the mines.

The Canary Bay town is by the Horse Shoe River mouth, where the river meets the sea. There is a wide sandy beach that is popular with holiday makers in summer. Small baches and large mansions line the edge of the beach. Further from the beach, modest houses occupied by more permanent residents march their way up the hills before the farms take over. There is an area of trees, both wild and managed forest for timber. Near the beach, there are a collection of shops. Some only open in summer, to catch the tourists, others supply the residents all year round.

Josh sat at his desk, feeling bored.

He was missing his friends from his old school. 

After Mum and Dad broke up, Mum had moved Josh, his little sister Jennifer, and baby Jed to Canary Bay. Mum's parents owned a farm near here, so she had managed to rent a cheap house off their Auntie Judith and they had all moved in three months ago.

Jennifer had made some friends quickly enough, but Josh was struggling to adapt. He had been quite good at sport at his last school, and had lots of mates, but here, well...

There were two older boys, Tony and Shane. 

Tony had taken an instant disliking to Josh. Josh didn't know why. He guessed it was just because he was new.

It had started with name-calling, verbal insults. Josh was able to ignore most of it. Childish stuff, ignorant, dumb. He thought it showed up how stupid Tony and Shane were, if anything.

But then, it escalated. The two boys teamed up with a much older boy, a school drop-out called Andrew.

Now things had become serious. The three boys were waiting for Josh after school. They would ambush him, do a bit of rough-housing. Josh was strong, and could give as good as he got, but three older boys on one younger was not a fair match in anyone's book.

However, Josh didn't want to worry his Mum. She was struggling enough right now.

Jenny had made friends with a nice girl, Eve. Eve's Mum often gave Jenny a lift home. Josh made sure he caught that ride. That way, he could sometimes avoid the bullies.