My Useless Job

  "It's an act of great honor!" they said. "Surly Drustan, your name will appear in our history books!" they said. Oh by Dagon's name, how unlucky can I be? What seemed like a rare opportunity turned into a gateway leading to eternal bland days that sucked the light out of my life. And just when I thought my mind would tip over the edge of insanity, a terrifying and beautiful miracle sent me running from an army of Israelites into a cave. Yet now, as I huddle against the world's largest shield in the cold damp darkness, I realize, I wouldn't have traded this day for anything else in the world.

  Earlier this morning, which feels like an eternity ago, I marched down the matted grassy hill same as I had twice a day, for the past forty days. Behind me trailed the rest of the soldiers, and to my left strode our champion, Goliath. A ten foot monster of a man the generals dug up from who knows where. Thanks to my father's popularity in the Philistine army, I was granted the hellish task of carrying Goliath's gigantic shield, as if he could not carry the wretched thing himself. The elders told me I should feel proud to assist and stand beside Dagon's chosen one, but my peers mocked that I only got this job because, once the battle began, Goliath would take his shield from me, and I would be left vulnerable in the front lines. They were right, but I did not care. A liability such as me was better off dead.

  The ground beneath my sandals trembled under the giant's slow and heavy strides. My bronze armor clattered as I stumbled. With each step the enormous round shield seemed to grow heavier, sending a stabbing pain through my sore biceps. I tightened my grip on the leather straps, arched my back, and leaned the shield against my head to take a bit of stress off my arms. Drops of sweat gathered in my dirty brown hair, crawled out of the helmet, and down my neck. I peered with my dung-colored eyes over the shield's edge, trying to spot the Israelite's camp. Could I be witnessing an illusion, or was there a line of soldiers waiting to meet us?

  "Halt!" the command boomed in my ear.

  "Give it a few more seconds," I thought, "perhaps if I am careful about it, no one will notice me setting the shield down and flog me after for looking unprofessional."

  As Goliath jeered some poetic nonsense about sticks and dogs, I slowly lowered his shield into the dirt. My lungs let out an exhausted sigh. With that weight removed, I scanned the army before me. To my surprise, the soldiers and king stayed far back, and in front of them, facing Goliath, stood a boy not much younger than I. He wore nothing but a white linen tunic and leather belt carrying a sword. The boy returned Goliath's threat with a hint of fire in his eyes, declaring that his name was David, and he fought in the name of the Lord Almighty.

  "How embarrassing." I scratched under my strong jaw line with my free hand. "Here our God gifts us an unkillable hero, while theirs has doomed them with a scrawny boy. Even I stand a better chance at surviving than a child."

  I was met with another surprise to see David ignore his sword and pull out a sling shot and stone. Goliath placed his hands on his hips, threw his head back, and bellowed with laughter. Some collective sneers and chuckles from the men behind me danced in my ear. I only sighed in disappointment. Secretly, I had been hoping for an epic battle to cure my boredom.

  As the challenger began to swing his weapon round, I cocked my head back and studied the sky. The clouds seemed to float through the pale blue sky like fish, reminding me of my favorite river near my home camp. I would swim in it so often my little sister accused me of having gills. A smile crept onto my lips for the first time in weeks at the thought of my sister. I could not predict what the coming battle would hold for me, but perhaps if I survived they would let me return home and see her again. An unlikely possibility, but a pleasant thought.

  A loud crack brought me back into reality. I snapped my head down just in time to spot a speck shooting through the air and hurl itself right between Goliath's eyes. My jaw dropped in utter astonishment.

  "Fool! Why did he not take his shield?!"

  The earth trembled as the giant came crashing face down. My feet began inching me backwards in a panic before I had time to process what was happening. How long had it been since this much fear and shock coursed through my body? David charged toward our fallen hero quick as the wind. I alone stood closest and most clearly saw David leap on top of Goliath, unsheathe his sword, and stab it right through his heart. Thunderous cheers echoed from the enemy camp. A piece of me wished I could join in their celebration rather than slowly backing myself out of the picture. David then rested one foot on top of the giant's head, lined up his sword into the crook of his neck, and with three mighty swings, cut off the beast's head. Gallons of blood oozed out and stained the grass red. The Israelite raised his sword high in victory. I studied his eyes from where I stood. The fire I had noticed earlier seemed to flicker even brighter now.

  "Is this the power of their God? Of the God?"

  I should have been terrified, running for my life, an army of Israelites on my tail, panicked Philistines scattered in front of me, and Goliath's shield resting on my back like a turtle shell. But as my heart pounded in sync with the thud of arrows bouncing off the shield, I came to realize I was experiencing something I hadn't felt since I was a child...excitement. Since birth, my perspective on life stayed as narrow as the lines I marched in. If you were not a skilled fighter, you were useless, and since I held no interest in battle or glory, I was useless. Besides my sister, people were predictable, life was pointless, I served no purpose in existing. That is, until today. The battle cry of David, with the spirit of his God burning in his eyes, woke me from my slumber. I will never be the same.

  I leaped off the tip of a rock and sprinted as far from the raging battle as possible. Scanning the side of the hill, I noticed a small cave.

  "Perfect!" My thoughts declared. "I can hide there until this battle passes over. There is no telling if I will survive this, but if I do, I have to find my sister, and tell her what miracle I have seen."