Monday, October 26, 2015

Battle Inferno


Beowulf, Eve, Adam, Alice, and Mr. Rabbit walk to find the dragon. 

Beowulf speaks, "Be on your guard. I have seen this beast kill more than I wish. We must use caution."

The whole company walks for three hours. They pass through forests, an abandoned home, and finally come to a stony, desolate land. The air smells like dead bodies and the heat keeps rising. Everyone looks around with sweat drenching their bodies. They hear something. It is a loud bang every couple of seconds. 

Adam points, "Behind that huge boulder. That's where the sound comes from." 

Beowulf signals for them to stay put. He walks and sneaks up behind the massive stone Adam directs him towards. With his back against the boulder, Beowulf peeks around the corner to see what the commotion is about. He sees the dragon's tail making the sound. As the dragon dreams, it moves its tail. Beowulf signals for everyone to quietly come to him. They all tip toe to him. 

Alice says, "What do we do?"

Mr. Rabbit speaks, "Yeah, what now?"

Beowulf tells them, "In order for me to kill the beast, I'll have to get close enough to where I can pierce its heart. This means I am going to need a lot of distractions." 

Everyone gulps. They all stare at each other and hear another slam of the dragon's tail. 

Beowulf continues, "Mr. Rabbit and Alice, can you go to the dragon's tail? Pull it only once I've gotten close enough. When it stands with its belly off the ground, I will go for the heart." 

They both look back and nod their heads. 

Beowulf speaks his last words, "Adam and Eve, you are to watch my back. If anything is going wrong, signal me immediately."

Adam and Eve look back nodding their heads grudgingly also. 

They all move into position. Alice and Mr. Rabbit go to the dragon's tail, dodging it as it swings about. Beowulf starts walking towards the dragon, feeling its hot breath. Beowulf slowly walks step by step to not wake the beast. The dragon breathes extremely hard blowing Beowulf back. Everyone else watches in terror. The dragon shudders in a dream and Beowulf falls to the ground like he's dead, thinking it was awake. It's still asleep and Beowulf keeps walking. He signals to Alice and Mr. Rabbit to pull its tail. They do so and when the dragon stands, it disappears. It was a spell that the dragon used. All of a sudden, Adam and Eve feel hot breath on their necks. They turn around and see the dragon. It lets out a huge roar. Everyone runs for their lives. 

Beowulf yells, "I'm coming, Adam and Eve! Run!"

They run towards Beowulf and get behind him. The dragon sees his old foe. 

The dragon says, "Hello, Beowulf, any last words?"

Beowulf responds, "My last words will be the ones I say at your funeral." 

The dragon grimaces and becomes angry yelling, "Lets see about that!"

The dragon breathes fire at him left and right. Beowulf rolls and dodges with all of his might. 

Beowulf says, "You've gotten slow, old friend." 

The dragon keeps breathing fire. Beowulf keeps taunting him. 

The dragon yells, "Fine. If you won't come out, I'll go after your friends!"

Beowulf yells, "Wait!"

There is so much smoke the dragon cannot see Beowulf. 

Beowulf speaks, "You know how you killed my family?"

The dragon smiles. 

Beowulf continues, "You know how you're destined to burn in hell?"

The dragon responds, "No man will kill me." 

There is dead silence. The dragon looks through the smoke to locate Beowulf. 

Beowulf runs and jumps off a rock while yelling, "That day is today!"

Beowulf flies through the air with his sword in one hand. He loses his balance and his hands tire. He finally gets to the dragon and stabs it in the heart, hanging in mid-air. The dragon yells out a moan that rattles the gates of hell. 

The dragon dies yelling, "No!"

Author's note: Again, I chose third person narration because it offers many more options when writing. It lets you add so much more detail! My main goal for this story is to create tension and intensity from the time everyone meets the dragon until the time it dies. 

In the original story, Battle with the Dragon, Beowulf fights a dragon the entire time, but in the end it says Beowulf grows tired. It is initiated by a man disturbing the dragon. The man is in the wrong place at the wrong time and the dragon thinks he has come to steal his treasure. Beowulf goes to protect his people from the dragon. Beowulf actually dies during his fight with the beast. He wins the fight though, with the aid of his companion, Wiglaf. 

In my story, Beowulf does fight the whole time, but in order to save his friends. The dragon tricks them with a spell, which it couldn't do in the original, and surprises everyone. Beowulf then seeks to save Adam and Eve by having the dragon breathe fire at them so smoke will give them visual cover. Lastly, my story actually has a conclusion and it ends with Beowulf jumping into the air stabbing the dragon in the heart. 

Bibliography:Battle with the DragonThe Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs (1933)

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