“Rising Up”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” — Jack Dempsey

“GET UP!” Paisley screeches. From my fuzzy vision, I see her glance over her shoulder at me.

“Can’t,” I wheeze. “Too… tired… No… more… Energy…”

The monster’s roar shakes the ground. My fingers instinctively curl into the dirt, trying to keep my body stable even though I’m lying face-down already.

“Nurret!” she screams. “Get off your lazy butt and help me!”

I wince at her tone. If she’s swearing then it means that she’s in serious trouble.

With a groan, I force my arms to draw my hands beneath my body. Palms flat against the ground, I slowly push myself up. My arms shake uncontrollably with the effort. A scream tears itself from my body as my arms fully extend, locking at the elbows.

Now for the hard part: Standing.

A long groan forces itself from my throat as I drag my right foot forward. I take a deep breath before pushing my body away from the ground to make room for my foot to turn so that the sole is pressed against the dirt. I pause for a moment, knee pressed against my chest, sweat dripping down off my chin.

“HURRY!” Paisley screams.

As the word leaves her lips, the monster rears back and swipes at her. My eyes widen with horror as I watch her fly toward the wall. A sickening crunch rings out as she tumbles to lie limply on the ground.

“PAISLEY!” I yell. Without thinking, I push myself up. I push the pain down, gritting my teeth against it, and I manage to stay upright by planting the tip of my sword firmly into the ground and leaning on it.

The monster turns to me, fire blazing in its eyes.

I dedicate the last of my energy to a growl.

“Come and get me.”

Final Comments: This one started out slow, but when I got into it, I really got into it… It was fun!

Overall Rating: 😃