Stories and Poems

The Fight in the Hall - Beowulf

A/N I did this a long time ago as a school assignment as we were reading Beowulf - we had to rewrite the scene where they first fight the monster in the hall.

The hall was dark – dead to the world. The swords and heads of prizes threw eerie shadows over the wall. The sound of heavy breathing emanated from the mouths of the sleeping warriors. The fire was dying in the hearth, all the warmth gone. Only the night-watchmen and one other were awake in the mist of the sleeping men. The light had faded long ago and now darkness was gripping the edges of their vision. They fought the drowsiness but it won and soon only one man was left awake: Beowulf.

        Beowulf was the leader of the Geats and was known by many for his strength and bravery. No-one could deny his strength, his arms were ripped with muscle, but some doubted his bravery. According to the legends, he fought nine, maybe ten, sea monsters but there was no-one to witness it so who could prove it ever happened?
         Beowulf had a stubborn nature, and had a set jaw to prove it. On the jaw he wore a beard which was auburn like his cropped hair. But his eyes where pitch black and stared at you with such ferocity you could see to the soul.
        Beowulf crouched by the embers of the fire deep in thought. He was thinking about what Wealtheow had said to him and what truth was in her words. He feared the truth, the truth about the darkness. He had indeed sought it to make him stronger but now he truly doubted whether it had given him strength or rather it had increased his weakness.

       A rustling came from outside, something sliding across the rush strewn earth of the yard. Beowulf came out of his stupor and jumped up quickly. He grabbed his sword and wheeled towards the door which creaked open slowly. A clawed grey hand that could easily fit a small horse in, appeared around the door. As soon as he saw this Beowulf dropped his sword for he knew the beast, knew it was Grendel, and knew that no manmade object would be able to kill it. The rest of Grendel stooped low to get through the door. The monster's body was grey and encased with scales as hard as armour. It had spikes running down the length of its ridged back and spiked tail. Its lips were pulled back tightly over the rows of yellowed, pointed teeth. Its small ears protruded from its reptilian head. Grendel also had ugly scars running down the length of its face from previous assassination attempts. However, even though it looked ugly it smelled even worse. The smell was a cross between rotten eggs and raw meat and was strong enough to make a grown man run from the room. But Beowulf stayed and stared into Grendel's black eyes with as much hatred as the creature stared back at him. Without a sound, both man and creature approached each other and started at the same moment to attack each other.
         Grendel, who was not used to an equal opponent, was slow only spotting his attacker's moves at the last minute. Beowulf, having fought harder monsters in his time, knew the tricks and how the creature would react and think. Beowulf feigned a low lunge but instead grabbed its elbow and swung himself up onto its back. From there he had control. He poked Grendel in its eyes and made it see nothing but blackness. Grendel, who could no longer see, let out a roar of anger and renewed his attempts to swing Beowulf off. Beowulf then hooked his arms around the beast's neck and squeezed. Grendel's movements got slower and weaker until he let out a final roar and dropped with a thud to the floor. Beowulf, not wanting to risk any more lives, ripped the creature in half and watched silently as dark black blood flowed freely across the rush strewn floor.
           It was only now that men started to awake. And, on sight of the monster started yelling and pulling their swords out waking even more. Finally the yelling quietened down at the sight of Beowulf, collapsed on the ground, his shirt soaked with blood. Someone ran from the room to get Hrothgar who hurried in a moment later. As soon as Hrothgar laid eyes on Beowulf, Beowulf stirred and the sat up groggily.
"What happened?" pressed Hrothgar. And slowly Beowulf recited his fight in the hall.