Taniwha Creek

By Deborah Barker

Taniwha Creek is a great place to grow up, and Kaz, JT, and Tai love nothing better than to spend lazy afternoons hanging at their favorite waterhole. They have a passion for touch rugby and are super determined to win the upcoming tournament and the grand prize: passes to the new theme park, Extreme Water! But theres a problem. The coachs nephew Kade is a spoiled brat who ruins every game with his selfish play and embarrassing tantrums.

As the boys try to figure out how theyre going to win, they notice strange things going on at the local waterhole. Was that an eel wrapped around Kades legsor something worse? Do logs mysteriously change direction as they spin? Or is that a freak of nature?

Join the fun, mystery, and adventure that take place at Taniwha Creek!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: May 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781499099492

Deborah Barker

Deborah Barker lives in Cambridge, New Zealand, with her family. She’s had a love for writing since she was a young girl and finds inspiration from the people and places around her. Taniwha Creek was born from the experiences and adventures her own sons had exploring the mountain, rivers and waterways near their home. Taniwha Creek is her first book.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Deborah Barker.

ISBN:             Softcover                   978-1-4990-9950-8

                      eBook                       978-1-4990-9949-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/17/2017

Xlibris

0-800-443-678

www.Xlibris.co.nz

758427

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

About the Author

Taniwha

In Māori mythology, taniwha (Māori pronunciation: [ 38201.png tanifa]) are beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or giant waves.

For my sons, Zac and Troy, my inspiration.

And Craig, who gave me a wonderful gift – time to write.

CHAPTER 1

Mount Greenridge looms over the village of Taniwha Creek, and it varies in mood from one day or even one hour to the next, sometimes looking dark and menacing, impenetrable and distant, and other times, like today, looking lush, green, and welcoming.

Kaz looked out his classroom window at the towering slopes and thought they stood like protectors of his village, guarding it and standing strong like an ancient sentry.

Sometimes Kaz felt as if Mount Greenridge had emotions, and he wondered if it watched the little humans clambering around in the village below. He knew it was capable of sending down a very thick mist, rolling down to make hikers lose their way and surrender.

Kaz loved to hear the tui birds that visited his garden from the mountain sanctuary. Their song gently woke him in the mornings as they feasted on the variety of flowers growing in the native trees. The kereru wood pigeons were so fat that you could hear the swishing beat of their wings carrying them across the sky before you saw them.

Kaz Carrington, I know the mountain is fascinating, but if you want to pass your next math test, I’d suggest you look this way.

Kaz turned his attention back to the whiteboard and frowned at the numbers scrawled across the surface. Failing a math test was not a good idea. Looking at his slightly frazzled teacher, he knew failing would mean no swimming at the waterhole for the next week at least; his mum was really strict like that.

Are you with us, Kaz? his teacher, Mr. Cohen, asked.

Yes, sir. I’m ready, willing, and kind of able, Kaz announced with a grin, but he wasn’t fond of being told off.

When he was a five-year-old on his first day of school, he had accidentally written his name, Zak, backward on his painting, and the almost six-year-olds laughed and chanted, Kaz, Kaz!

He decided, People call me Kaz. Nicknames are way better than normal old boring names, actually! (Kaz loved the word actually and had stuck it on the end of most of his statements for at least a year.) From that day on, everyone called him Kaz.

After school, Kaz and his best friends, Tai and JT, hoisted their packs onto their backs and walked toward Tai’s house at the edge of the village.

The three eleven-year-old boys had been inseparable since they were five. They were all quite different in personality, but somehow this made them all get along even better.

Kaz stood taller than the other two and had broad shoulders. He had shaggy, sandy-brown hair and always wore a friendly smile. He was confident and self-assured. He was also fair-minded and made sure people never felt left out or were picked on by bullies. He lived with his mum in the centre of the village.

JT was blond-haired, lean, and wiry. The other boys were envious of his six-pack abs and made him flex his stomach muscles when he took off his T-shirt; they looked really awesome when he sneezed! JT was a natural athlete. He lived nearby on a farm with his family, which kept him physically active and in such great shape.

Tai was the serious member of the group; he was a really good problem solver and was the one the other two turned to when they were stuck with their homework. He had dark brown, wavy hair that he wore spiked up with hair product. Tai was easy-going and popular. Everyone seemed to like him, even the teachers!

The warmed tar on the road sent up wavering plumes of heat, and the trio felt the sweat trickling down their spines as they walked through their small rural village, a place where most people knew each other and waved to friends as they sauntered by.

Just as the heat was becoming overwhelming, they reached Tai’s place. The boys headed past the house and toward the well-beaten track that ran down to a private little beach.

Tai’s mum poked her head out the door and called out, Don’t forget that the river level has gone down a bit lately—

We know, Mum, Tai interrupted, quoting her. ‘Never dive into the river until you’ve first checked for rocks and submerged logs.’

The other boys turned and grinned, nodding in agreement.

OK, guys, back home by teatime, please. Have fun, but check the river bottom. I don’t want to be calling an ambulance. I have cakes to bake for the touch-rugby fundraising cake stall.

Promise, Ma. Save us some baking! Tai replied with a cheeky grin.

Off you go, scallywag! Tai’s mum laughed as she went back into the house.

Oh, crap. JT yelped. A nodder got me—ouch! He pointed at the offending nodding thistle.

Kaz screwed up his face, scanning the surrounding vegetation to see if the menaces were gaining ground anywhere else. Those thistles are a pain. It doesn’t matter how often we spray them, they just keep popping up.

As the boys reached the sandy spot at the edge of their track, they raced the last few steps and jumped into the air, yelling, Yeah!

They thumped down onto the pebbly sand, school bags flung