The Secret of The Great Wall
Chloe Hui, Group 3: Fiction, Discovery College
n an orphanage in London, there lived the twins Daniel and Daphne Benson, whose parents got killed in a
huge fire. The twins had light brown hair with matching brown eyes. Having lived in the orphanage for
many years they were growing bored of the orphanage for they both shared a love for adventure. So, they
were thrilled when a housemother told them that they were being relocated to Beijing, next to the Great
Wall of China.
A few weeks later, Daniel and Daphne arrived in China with the other orphans that were being relocated
with them. The moment they arrived at the new orphanage, they rushed up to their bedroom and quickly
unpacked, a simple task, because they had little belongings. Daphne looked out the window and saw that they
had a wonderful view of the Great Wall and it’s scenery. “I hope we’re allowed to go out often, not like in
London, where we were cooped up all day,” said Daphne. Luckily, they could go on field trips to the Great Wall
every month, which really pleased them.
The twins settled in pretty quickly, and were enjoying the new orphanage, as they could go out more often
that the old orphanage. However, things suddenly went downhill, when one day, everyone was arriving for
breakfast, and the housemothers realised a few of the kids that were relocated with the twins were missing. At
first, nobody noticed, because they all thought they had overslept. But after breakfast when everyone started to
head off to the schoolrooms, everyone realised that they were missing, because no one was ever late for class. A
few of the housemothers went off to the missing kids’ bedrooms and reported that the beds were empty. After a
thorough search of the entire orphanage, everyone was sure that the kids were gone.
Some people were so busy studying for an upcoming test that they completely forgot about the missing
children. But their attention was drawn back when their bodies were found in their beds a few days’ later, dead.
It caused much panic amongst the children and they all started moving around to classes in groups. Daniel and
Daphne, who both loved mysteries, were keen to investigate, but after what happened to the kids, all of the
orphans were under strict surveillance, and there was no chance to sneak out after lights out, because all the
doors would be locked. The twins were starting to feel that the orphanage was more like a prison.
Just when everyone started to calm down about the murders, more children, who were also relocated with
the twins, were found missing. And everyone knew what would happen next. Sure enough, a few days later, the
missing children were found dead in their beds. The adults were in such panic that kids going to their next class
had to led by a teacher and, much to the twins’ despair, all of the long awaited field trips to the Great Wall were
cancelled. One day, when the children were in the library, David whispered to Daphne,
“
We have to get to the bottom of this. Not only for revenge but to get our freedom back. If we don’t solve
this problem, we’ll never be let out of the orphanage again, which would be horrible.”
“
I know, but how? With a combination of teachers, housemothers and guards, we never get a moment to
ourselves. I’m sure it won’t be long before they start guarding our doors at night,” replied Daphne.
“
We’ll find a way to sneak out before they start guarding the doors and find out who’s behind this,”
responded Daniel, before turning back to his homework, seeing the passing librarian.
But before they had the chance to even think of a plan, disaster struck. One night, Daniel suddenly woke up,
hearing sounds in the distance and turned to look at Daphne’s bed. To his horror, he saw it was empty, the
blankets were thrown back and there was a smear of blood on the bed sheets. He heard the sound again, and
realised they were screams. He sprang out of bed, and then reminded himself to be quieter, or else he would
wake everyone and never get to go find Daphne. He tiptoed to the door and took a skeleton key out of his pocket.
It was a key that could unlock any door. He unlocked the door and crept out, still able to hear the distant
screams. He followed the sound, and it led him to a solid wall, with an old oil lamp bracket on it. Daniel
examined the wall carefully, and when studying the bracket, he turned it sideways and, to his surprise the wall
slid open to reveal a secret passageway with stairs leading underground. Daniel went in to have a look and the
wall slid closed behind him, trapping him. Luckily, he always kept a flashlight with him. He pulled it out, took a
deep breath and walked into the darkness of the staircase.
After a while, Daniel finally reached a large chamber. He had no idea where he was, but after one look at
the tiles on the wall, he recognised them as the same tiles that lined the Great Wall, and judging by the earth
covering the ceiling, he was able to tell that the chamber was beneath the Great Wall. Blueprints and maps lined
the walls; each and every one scribbled on in an unfamiliar language. At the end of the chamber was a large
I
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