Words In Frame, 6/24

“Do you see anything?” Mikey’s soft voice broke the silence.

“Nah, nothing yet, they must be waiting for us to strike first.” Ian stated as he came down from a well-placed rock.

“Hmm…well should we do it or should we wait?”

“I think we should wait a bit longer”

The two brothers were in the middle of a pivotal battle. The Lizardmen had just invaded their home and were currently taking over their field in the McShire Kingdom. They had done a good job thus far of warding off the enemy but their rations were running low and they were running out of cool ways to take out the Lizardmen.

“Mikey quick, pass me Ragnarok!”

Mikey frantically searched the ground for Ian’s trusty sword before finding it hidden in the tall grass behind them. He tossed it to Ian with before quickly rolling out of the way of enemy fire. They had shown their hand, and the next wave was approaching.

“Party time!” Ian shouted as he jumped from his rock headfirst into the fray.

“Save some for me!” Mikey rushed in after Ian, refusing to be left behind.

The two boys were fighting not just for themselves, but for their lands. They were protecting something that was bigger than them, something that was bigger than the Lizardmen too. No force could stop them. The boys wove in and out of the enemy forces delivering swift strikes and dishing out flourishes of karate moves that they had seen in a movie the night before mixed with random chants they made up with on the spot. Before they knew it they were surrounded. There was nowhere to run and almost no way to escape. In this very moment of desperation a breeze kicked in and a lone cloud cast a shadow over where they are standing. Ian lit up.

“Mikey get down, I’m gonna finish em off!” Ian warned his brother as he thrust Ragnarok into the sky.

At this moment the wind blew even harder and Ian made the grand gesture of slamming his sword into the ground, summoning lightning from the cloud above them and directing it toward their foes. There was a huge boom as the white bolt struck the earth and caused a massive explosion. When the dust settled all of the Lizardmen around them had fallen and the boys felt their victory had been secured.

“Wait…do you hear that?” Mikey uttered cautiously as he looked around.

“What do they sound like” Ian turned to cover Mikey’s blind spots.

“Like…footsteps…”

Seemingly out of nowhere another Lizardman appeared. This one was much larger than the rest and wielded two large axes. He was snarling with rage and had a bloodthirsty look in his eye. The two brothers, both exhausted from battled, turned toward each other.

“One last one?” Mikey inquired.

“Yeah, one more”

The two charged forward with as much force as they could, Mikey went for the legs as Ian aimed to damage the beast’s head. However it was much quicker than the rest. It must have been their commander. It dodged with their attacks with a violent beauty before fighting back. It went after Mikey, sensing he was the weaker foe, and, right before the blow struck, Ian rushed in to push him out of the way. It seemed to happen in slow motion, Ian taking a critical blow right before his brother’s eyes, while Mikey watched helplessly.

“Mikey, take my sword, finish the job!” Ian tossed his sword toward his companion before falling limp on the ground. In his final moment he had entrusted his sword to Mikey, there was no longer any room for fear or regret.

Mikey looked at the beast with his new sword in hand. It was funny, he had never fought with Ragnarok before but it somehow felt familiar. He took a stance to prepare for battle, some odd combination of Ian’s stance and his own. He was ready. The creature lunged at him and swung with full force. Mikey waited for the right moment before weaving in between the two axes to slice at the monsters heels. Take out the legs, just like he had practiced. As the monster feel to its knees Mikey lept into the air and came down with his sword with no more inhibition. After the strike there was nothing but silence. After the silence the beast lay lifeless on the ground with it’s head 6 feet away from its body. Mikey quickly ran over to his brother to make sure he was okay, extending a hand to help him up.

“Thanks man” Ian still seemed a bit worn down as he got back to his feet.

“McShire lives to see another day” Mikey boasted proudly. He had never gotten to finish the boss and this was his moment.

“For honor and valor?” Ian was reciting the code of McShire, which the two of them swore an oath to always uphold.

“For honor and valor”.

The sun was starting to set as the two boys made their way off the battle field. They walked in the direction of their mother calling and the smell of fresh catfish being prepared for dinner.