When I was growing up, at the end of my street was my park. This was not an ordinary park. There were no slides, swings or climbing frames. In fact, the grass was not even mowed or kept. It was a deserted plot, with a broken, rusty fence. This space was an amazing adventure playground for me. I spent many afternoons down there exploring with my dog Liklik or playing adventure games with my friends. Of course there were great trees to climb, tall overgrown weeds and well worn paths that made the space a perfect boy’s paradise. Best of all was the pond – well it was not really a pond – just a depression in the ground filled with bits of broken bricks, construction rubble and even an old tyre. Over the years it filled with rain water and became home to an amazing collection of frogs. While this space was an adventure playground during the day, at night it was a mystery to me. It was a place that I totally avoided. With no lights around and the noise of the frogs, I was too scared to lift up the rusty old fence and crawl inside.

That all changed one night.

It was a beautiful summer night. Warm air blew through the windows as I lay awake listening to the noises of the night. Then I heard it! Among the usual croaks, chirps and ribbets, was a strange and echoing bark. “Baawriipp.”

Then I heard it again. “Baawriipp.”

The sound repeated over and over. My spine was tingling every time I heard this sound. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I was totally freaked out. The worst part was that I could not fall asleep. The sound seemed to take over my universe. It became my absolute focus. There was nothing I could do or think about to change this. The seconds ticked by in slow motion and all I wanted was for the sound to stop so I could go to sleep. “Baawriipp.”

To make matters worse, every time the sound happened, Liklik would let out a low growl – as if she could sense my tension.

I decided that I would have to face this unknown noise. As great as the fear of the unknown was, I carefully slipped out of bed, grabbed my sneakers and a jacket that was heaped on the floor. I stealthily pulled my bedroom door open. Every noise that I made as I snuck down the hallway was amplified in the pitch blackness. By now Liklik was at my side, but this did little to allay my fears. “Baawriipp.”

At the end of the hallway I stopped and held my breath listening for the direction of the sound. “Baawriipp.”

The sound was definitely coming from outside. I peered through the front door window. There was nothing to see but the weird shadows of the night. “Baawriipp.”

If I wanted to know what was making that sound I would have to go outside. I tip-toed quickly back through the kitchen to grab my dad’s Mag-light torch. Although it was not much bigger than a pen, its brilliant L.E.D light would be a great friend in the pitch blackness of the front garden. Even though the street lights created some light, it was the weird shadows that freaked me out. “Baawriipp.”

I headed back to the front door. I held my breath as I reached for the lock. I knew that the click of the lock would sound like a rifle bolt in the hallway. If mum or dad – especially dad – knew that I was going out the front door in the middle of the night, I would be in HUGE trouble. “Baawriipp.”

I turned the lock. There was a loud click as the door unlocked. Now I was out of the house! I crept along the driveway holding the torch low and scanning around. Liklik, as if sensing danger, stayed close to my legs. This was too weird. There was nothing! “Baawriipp.”

I realised the sound was definitely not coming from the front garden. I would have to go into the street. Nooooo! Mum and dad would really be mad at me if they found out. But I just had to know what was making this strange sound. I moved fast, kept low and entered the streetscape. Besides the neighbour’s bins on the pavement, everything was where it should be. I froze again, listening for the sound. “Baawriipp.”

The sound was definitely coming from the end of my street. Yep! You guessed it. It was coming from the empty plot at the end of my street. As I peered down the street, it drew me in like a black hole. No light, no movement. There were only the strange shapes and shadows, and a freaky unknown noise. “Baawriipp.”

After taking a few deep breaths, I made my way towards my park. By now Liklik was a quivering mess. I don’t know if she sensed my fear or if she was scared of the strange noise. So much for my brave companion! As soon as I stood at the rusty old fence, the sound hit me like a sledge hammer. “Baawriipp.”

I jumped back, swinging the torch from side to side, scanning the weeds, undergrowth and even the trees. I could see nothing! If I wanted to know what was making the sound, I was going to have to go in. I forced myself to take deep breaths. 1…2…3…Ok, this is it. It’s now or never. I crouched low and reached for the loose fencing. Liklik whined. “Baawriipp.”

I froze and held my breath. Was the thing that was making this noise watching me? No way! Impossible! Just to be safe, I raised the torch and scanned around again. There was nothing! Now the only sound that I could hear was my thumping heart. It was so loud in my head that I could have sworn that my heart replaced my brain in my skull. The only problem now was that I was completely frozen. Liklik nudged me which stirred me back to life. In slow motion I reached out and grabbed the bottom of the loose fence, lifting it up. “Baawriipp.”

I dived through the gap under the fence, getting a face full of weeds for my clumsiness. “Keep going, keep going” was all that I could think now. This was a mission that I had to finish. I stumbled up and cautiously stepped down the well worn pathway to the centre of the plot. I knew that this direction would lead me to the pond. I scanned the park with the torch as I moved along slowly, but there was nothing unusual or out of place that I could detect. “Baawriipp.”

Dive! Dive! Dive! I hit the ground hard, the loose rubble tearing through my PJ’s knees. The sound was definitely coming from ahead of me at the pond. Maybe it was just some new weird frog species. Surely not! The sound was too strange to be a frog. Whatever it was, it was really close now and I would be finding out soon enough. After I caught my breath I clawed my way along the path towards the pond. “Baawriipp.”

I paused in mid crawl and held my breath. It was very close now, maybe within five metres. Many things go through a ten year olds brain when they are five metres away from a strange and freaky unknown sound. Was it aliens? Was it a new species of frog that has been genetically modified and escaped from the local lab? Was it a nasty neighbour playing a prank on some poor neighbourhood dog? I lifted the torch high to see further down the track towards the pond. I still could not see anything unusual. “Baawriipp.”

I was close enough now to zero in on the source of the sound. I had to make just a few more crawls.  The torch light hit some reflective surface. Was this an animal? No, it was rubbish! Ahh… a plastic bottle from one of those high sugar sports drinks with the wide neck. I had to keep searching for the source of the sound. Everything was where it should be. There was nothing unusual I could see. What was making that strange sound? “Baawriipp.”

I swung the torch at the direction of the sound. It was coming from the plastic bottle! And there inside was the source of the mysterious sound, a trapped frog. I gently tipped it out and it hopped off into the pond with a plop.

Don’t you just hate pollution!