Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
“What sort of contraption is this?!” I yelled into the air as I drew my sword from its leather sheath. Raindrops pelted on the metal creating a musical sound. Across the land thunder rolled, and carried with it a powerful wind that swept the grass into a flurry of motion. A streak of blinding light from the sky illuminated the small army that I had with me where we stood at the edge of the woods under the cover of darkness.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Around us the rain began to pour in torrents, creating a much larger noise as it bounced off my men’s and my armor. Beside me Captain Nichols had to shout to be heard over the unrelenting deluge.
“Sire!! What is your call? Do we defeat whatever beast is lying inside your enemies’ castle, or do we wait until morning?”
“We go now!” I shouted back. “And we destroy whatever monstrosity our enemy has created. To me!!!”
With a wave of my sword, all of the men, who had turned into dwarves, went charging toward the dark castle. Whatever was making the awful sound inside that castle continued to ring within my head. I had to stop it!
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
In a matter of seconds we reached the castle gates, but I was momentarily confused because it should have taken us minutes to get there.
“Who goes there?” A lone guard on top of the tower hollered down to us.
Stepping forward proudly, Captain Nichols replied, “In the name of the true King, King Mason, you are commanded to open this gate, and submit yourself to him!”
From above the guard yelled, “There is no King but King Gregor, and this is his domain!”
“Then death shall be your penalty! Too long has Gregor pretended to be who he is not, and tonight, we end his phony claim of leadership!”
Suddenly the gates were open, and my large group of men which had somehow multiplied from a score to thousands, stormed into the city, preparing to take back the citadel that rightfully belonged to me. The rain had turned to a mist and slowly began to create a fog that blurred our vision.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
It was back! I reigned in my mighty steed to the right, where the noise was coming from, and took off at lope. Gregor, who dared to call himself King Gregor, was known for creating unimaginable beasts and demons, but there was no fear in my heart, because I knew that with me and my brave army—who appeared to no longer be behind me (Must have gotten lost in the fog)—could defeat it. Long had we traveled to this nefarious fortress to remove this false King from his throne, and we would not return home defeated.
Strangely, I found myself no longer riding on horse back through the streets, but striding through the palace halls. Abruptly the palace hall changed to the walls of a fisherman’s home. Mangled Nets hung on the walls, and the pungent odor of dead fish polluted the air. What manner of devilry was this?
“Ah, King Mason, you have come at last!”
Spinning around, I found myself staring into the malevolent eyes of my long evasive enemy, Gregor.
“You…” I whispered with distaste on the tip of my tongue.
“Yes, it is I. I’ve heard that you’ve been looking for me.”
Silence reigned between us.
“Well, it seems that you have found me!” Gregor chuckled, and I cocked my head to the side. This was not what I had been prepared for.
“Perhaps we should have a bite to eat to refresh ourselves before we get to the part where we try to kill each other.”
“All right,” I agreed, surprisingly pleased.
We sat down at a small wooden table, and Gregor removed a pot of boiling soup from the stove. Steam rose from the pot, and a pleasant smell eroded away the smell of decaying fish. But it seemed that neither of us were very hungry, and so we didn’t eat. We both stared at each other, with our hands on our swords, waiting for the other to strike. Out of nowhere a spear flew over my left shoulder and I turned to see someone in a dark cloak standing behind me. This man was Gregor, and if he was Gregor, then who was the fool sitting across from me that had invited me to sit down and eat? I turned around to ask him, but he was gone, and there was no trace that he had ever been there. Not even the soup could be found.
Come to think of it, I thought to myself. We’re not even in the fisherman’s house anymore. I faced Gregor in the dark cloak, and we stood in the middle of a great throne room with guards lining the walls on all sides.
“Come and face me, Mason, and then you shall face my masterpiece!”
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
The monstrous beast! I had forgotten it, but I could hear it plain as day! Where was it? But I didn’t have time to look around, for Gregor swung his mighty sword forward and I had to react quickly to block the blow. Gregor was a talented swordsman, and I had to use all of my strength just to stand my ground. It didn’t help that the merciless noise was ringing in my ears and vibrating through my whole body.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Maybe this was the beast! The noise in itself! A kind of sorcery that was meant to drive a man mad. I parried a blow from Gregor and began throwing the most complex blows that I could think of. With all of my might I tried to push the horrible noise that was grating upon me away.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
I could not lose! I had to win! My body began to shake involuntarily, and I struggled to control myself.
“Mason! Mason!”
Someone was cheering me on! I forced Gregor to his knees and prepared to strike the death blow.
“Mason! Mason!”
Beep! Beep!
I could do this! I could defeat him! Defeat him once and for—
“Mason!”
I opened my eyes, confused. What was going on?
“Mason!” My eyes focused in on my mother. How had she gotten here, and where was Gregor?
“What have I told you about staying up late and reading those fantasy novels? It’s time for school, you need to get up! Hurry!”
Reality came crashing on to me, and I headed to the bathroom to get ready for school, but before I left, I turned off my alarm clock.