Today was the day that two children would have to sacrifice themselves to the monster of the unknown. Terror inhibited the person of all people present as we gathered under our village tree. All the children and their parents were worried sick. If the child of any family is chosen then that is your last hope of seeing them again. Also, no one in centuries has ever come back alive from this quest.
“Ok now it is time.” said the chief of our village as all the people gathered near her and he pulled out a bowl with a lot of chits in it. Each chit had the name of one child. “Without any further ado, the first person to hopefully defeat our worst nightmare is,” he reached out into the bowl and pulled out a chit. “ Emma Page.”
No this cannot be happening. I tried to run forward and stop this but I was too late. No, they cannot take her. Emma is my best friend. I cannot lose her. I would die without her. I have been best friends ever since I can remember. But it would be impossible to save here now. She climbed onto the makeshift stage. I could see that she was trying not to cry and so was I. She was being showered with gifts and people were chanting her name in hopes of her being the one to finally kill this demon. Her bright and always happy blue eyes were dull and scared. Strands of her brown hair covered her eyes as she tried to appear strong and brave for the sake of her family but I knew that she was hanging on by a thread and I knew she was going to break down as soon as she reached home. I could not bear to see her like that.
After the Page family had finally calmed down a bit the village chief dug his hand into the bowl of chits and pulled out yet another chit. All I could do was hope that it was me. I know I sound crazy but trust me this was the only way that she was going to be able to survive. “And the second person to save our small little town is Emma Brown.” I almost jumped up and down before I realized all the eyes were on me and what I was about to get myself into. I ran onto the stage which to be honest shocked a lot of people but I did not care. I ran and pulled into a hug. She whispered into my ears “I might be selfish to say this but I am so happy that you are here with me.”
“I couldn't have been happier” I whispered back.
I was doing my level best to try not to cry for Emma's sake.
After that, we were both covered with rose petals and flower garlands. We were then sent home for a good night's sleep and then we would be facing our doom tomorrow. I decided to go to Emma's house and help her calm down and be prepared for what comes at us tomorrow. And I was also hoping deep down that we would be able to brainstorm some ideas to maybe help us defeat the monster of the unknown. I know this sounds silly, even the strongest of warriors have not been able to kill this thing, but it wouldn't kill me to be a bit hopeful right?
But Emma fell asleep after a few hours while brainstorming. I came up with a few strategies to defeat this monster and then fell asleep too.
Today was the day. Emma and I went to the send-off location. All the villagers had gathered there and were cheering for us. We both tried to put on a confident and brave face but both of us were clueless and had no idea if we would ever come back alive.
It was time for us to say our final goodbyes. I went to my parents. My mom hugged me but her voice failed her. I nodded to tell her I understood what she meant. I went over to my dad who hugged me into a rib-cracking hug. “Can't breathe.” I crooked.
Dad gave me a sad smile and I could see the pain in his eyes. “I am already proud of you. I just wanted you to know that.”
“I know that Dad. And I promise you I will give my best. I won't ever let you do-" I was cut halfway in my sentence with a loud horn. It was the chief and he was signaling me. It was finally time to go. I gave my family a last hug and found my way to the boat. It was small but spacious. It had enough food to survive for at least weeks. I carefully placed my bag with all the supplies I would need throughout this entire trip. I stepped onto the boat and said my goodbyes.
After a few minutes of silence, Emma spoke “I know the way. My parents had taken me on vacation once and we had seen the monster's cave from a distance. You should get some sleep. I know you were up almost all night yesterday. Just go to sleep.”
“Ok,” I said without argument. I could feel the sadness in the air. After all, we were going to face our deaths. My mind was running at a million miles per hour but finally exhaustion got the best of me and I drifted asleep.
I woke up and saw that all around me water had formed into dangerously sharp waves. “We must be getting close,” I said. Emma just nodded. I knew she was scared to death but she was keeping it strong for me.
Last night I also researched that the monster is known to be a cold environment-loving beast. After a few hours of silence, we finally docked near the cave of the monster. Emma did know the fastest and best route here. The moment we stepped onto land we started to shiver.
I then handed Emma an old red woolen jacket which she took. “You really came prepared, huh?” she said.
I just shrugged not knowing what to say. Once we were both in the jackets we started to feel better. We walked for a few minutes and then came in front of the cave. It was getting colder with every step we took. I looked at Emma and she nodded. It was now or never.
I took the lead and stepped into the cave. I was freezing in there. I knew if not because of the monster I would die because of the cold.
We walked for a few minutes and saw a waterfall from which we filled our water bottles.
“We should walk for a few more minutes and look for the monster. If we can't find it we will camp here for the night.'' I said.
“Sounds like a plan,” said Emma smiling. It was a while before I had seen her smile. I felt good to know that she was happy to have me here.
After hiking for what seemed like hours we finally came to a point where we were exhausted. We went to collect wood for the fire. After about half an hour we both came back to our base camp and Emma placed our sleeping bags and some cold food while I started a fire.
After the fire was started and both of us were warmed up a bit we were overcome by exhaustion. I decided to take the first watch as I had gotten some sleep on the boat. After what seemed like a few hours of keeping us safe I was just about to wake Emma up for her turn when I heard a piercing scream from the other side of the cave. Emme’s eyes shot open and she bolted upright.
“Stop the fire,” she screamed.
I stood there stunned for a few seconds after which I understood what she meant. How could we have been so stupid? We were in the den of an ice giant, any signs of heat would have alerted the giant. This was the worst mistake we could have made. Once the fire was out we huddled in a dark corner hoping to not be spotted by the giant.
After a few terrifying minutes, I was about to peek out and see if we were safe when I felt the earth shake. Was that an earthquake? NO. it was much worse.
It was the footsteps of the monster. It was sniffing all around the cave in hopes of finding us. It had finally sensed us. I was about to whisper to Emma “If we make a run for the entrance of the cave do you think we would make it?”
Emma just nodded, she was too stunned to speak. I rose to my full height grabbed Emma’s hand and was about to bolt when I realized there were cave openings everywhere. Not only had we lost the way we also lost our only chance of seeing our families. I knew it. It was going to be the end of us. Just then the worst possible thing happened. I found myself face-to-face with the giant.
I had underestimated the giant. It was about eight feet tall with a dozen of sharp teeth ready to tear us apart. The giant's eyes glowed red in anger and it started walking towards us. I was petrified. Just then an idea came to my mind. It may not work but it was worth a shot. I ran inside our dark corner and grabbed my backpack. I removed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured it onto an extra shirt I was carrying. The giant was now about ten feet away. Perfect. I threw my shirt into the air towards the giant and then tried to time my throw. If I missed we were dead. Thinking about my family I threw the lighter into the air and I had timed it correctly. My t-shirt caught on fire mid-air and just a second later it landed on the giant's face.
It howled and staggered back in pain. Its face caught on fire. The painful howls pierced through the entire cave and shook it to the core. I was afraid the cave might collapse on us and before that became reality I grabbed Emma's hand and bolted to one of the many tunnels. We ran and took a sharp right and ran some more only to find it was a dead end. I was on the verge of crying but then suddenly I felt bright and warm sunlight fall on me. I looked up and my happiness knew no limit. There was an opening in the cave wall. It was a few feet up but not impossible to reach. I gave Emma a boost and then saw her vanish into the small opening and then heard a loud thud on the other side. Emma made it out safely!
And after a few minutes of struggling, I made it out myself. The minute I landed in the sand the cave collapsed and I heard the last howl of the monster.
“We did it. Emma!!” I screamed as I wiped a tear of joy from my eyes.
“I know and it is all thanks to you,” she said, pulling me into a hug.
Next, we found our boat and sailed across the ocean to see our families and tell them this happy news. I know they would be extremely proud of us. We had completed this dangerous quest that nobody could.
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