A True Hero

4 - The Sound of War

"Yyyaaaaa!!!" I screamed, slashing the spikes off of the monster's back. The giant lizard turned its ugly head to me, opening its mouth and breathing out poisonous fumes. I held my breath and dodged the monster's swinging arm, just as my father and Meta Knight jumped and performed a combo move, plunging their swords into the monster's back and slicing down along its spine. It yelled in agony and fell down, splitting in half in a cloud of static.

"Why do they die like this?" I yelled over the chaos to my father as he sliced a giant spider in half.

"They're not really living," he yelled back, jumping over me to dice a bat two times my size. "They're just monsters...kind of like machines. Created by N.M.E. If all monsters were living, they would have a mind of their own. Free will. These demon beasts only do Nightmare's bidding. He does have living monsters, though."

"Traitors?" I asked, performing an uppercut kick into a smaller dragon's neck and twisting my body clockwise, my blade swinging cleanly through its neck.

"To the GSA, yes," Meta Knight answered, leaping over the horde of monsters coming through the smashed windows.

"Enough talk, we need to evacuate. Nicole," my father said, "round up your brothers and mother and meet in the castle courtyard. If you pass anyone still hiding in the castle, bring them too. Meta Knight and I will hold off these monsters long enough for you all to get to safety. I'll meet you in the ship!"

When I nodded, my father gathered all of his strength and sent a double sword beam through the wall of beasts, creating an opening. I sprinted through, grabbing my mother as I went, and burst through the doors into the dining room. Thousands of small monsters with claws and swords were attacking my brothers. My mom folded her arms in and out, then circled them, creating a giant blue orb of energy, and raised her arms above her head, causing blue lightning streaks to explode from her body. My brothers and I all raised our arms in Xs, reflecting the energy onto the monsters. It was our family's most practiced and best group move. Every monster in the room blew up or was electrocuted.

"Thanks, mom," Austin and Alex said in unison, and we all raced to the castle courtyard, stopping in the kitchen and pantry to grab any cooks or helps still hiding.

"The entrance is at the end of this hall. Keep goi-" My mom yelled but was cut off by an ear-splitting cracking noise. The stone arch above the entrance collapsed in a cloud of smoke and debris. Coughing, we climbed the rubble and looked at the fiery cloud covering the garden. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and the air was still. Too still. Not a sound was heard. Not even the scarlet birds my mother and I had adored earlier.

"HHEELLP-" said a cook behind me. I whipped around but wasn't fast enough. She disappeared into the smoke, her midsection enticed by a long tail, her scream cut short.

I closed my eyes, knowing she wouldn't be coming back, and whispered, "Stay on your guard. There's a giant snake...it took one of the cooks." Some of the helps gasped, then clung to each other.

"Just stay together," my mother whispered. Our group slowly advanced with my family circling the remaining group. Zac and Kyle took up the rear, My mom and I in the front, and Austin on the left, Alex on the right.

Sssszzzz.... The snake slithered. I held my breath and raised my hand in a fist for us to stop. It was quiet for a few seconds, then WHAM! Its giant tail swept under our feet and caught us, squeezing us. Its giant head appeared through the clouds, its tongue sweeping across its scaly lips.

"Family shockwave on my count," I whispered as it tightened its grip on us. I wheezed as I tensed up and lost my breath.

"Stay relaxed," said Zac, taking slow, deep breaths.