The Fight Against Evil

Liam woke up to the sound of noise outside his window. The adults of his community were coming together to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the community. Liam was still sluggish from a long night's sleep and dragged himself downstairs. There, he found his parents making him breakfast.

“Cheer up,” his mom noticed his drowsiness, “Today is the big day. It’s the bicentenary of this community.”

“How come we still have to go to school? Isn’t today a holiday?” Liam dreaded school. It was just teachers reading off books and giving piles of homework.

“Now, eat your breakfast, and don’t be late. You don’t want to be tardy on the anniversary,” Liam’s mom gave him his food and left for the celebration.

 “You heard what your mom said, don’t be late,” Liam’s dad left him.
Liam heard the sound of the bus and scoffed down his meal. If he was late, his parents would be mad.

He rushed out the front door and headed for the bus stop. He got there and barely made the bus. Liam headed to his normal spot in the back with his friend Julius.

“Hey, what’s up?” Liam said, instantly getting a rush of energy.

 “Nothing much. I still don’t understand why we have to go to school. The parents have the day off, so why can’t we?” Julius was delighted at the sight of Liam.

“Same,” Liam said.

Liam sat down and waited to go to school. He felt that this time, the bus was exceptionally fast.

When the bus finally came to a stop, everyone looked like zombies. Like Liam, they all dreaded school. They walked as slow as possible, so they wouldn’t have to suffer in school. But they still had to unless they wanted to get in trouble with their parents.

However, inside the school was a buzz of activity. Until the bell rang, friends met and talked about what happened in the community. After that, everyone went to their own classroom and wouldn’t be together before lunch.

After a couple hours of learning, which in Liam’s perspective felt like a century, lunch finally came. He got the chunky food that the school served. There were pieces of uncut cheese and slimy stuff. He didn’t want to eat it, but he would be hungry otherwise. Liam held his breath and ate it.

He thought that he barely survived and went to play. While he was playing basketball with Julius, a magical portal appeared. There was a ring of fire, with an orange middle. Liam, being curious, stepped into the portal, and was transported to another place, the evil dimension. Julius followed him into the portal. They tried going back, but the portal closed.

Liam thought that he might as well just explore the place that he was trapped in. He walked around but found nothing. Julius went looking in the other direction. He did find something and called for Liam.

“Liam! There’s something here. Come look,” Julius gestured at where his feet were.

Liam ran over and saw a creature. He thought that it was another thing stuck in the dimension, but he was wrong. Liam went to wake the creature up, and it was furious.

Of course, it couldn’t talk in human language, but its face was as red as a tomato. It began grunting loudly and started to swing its arm.

The creature was a Bodel and was in the middle of hibernation. It was buff and had the power of 100 people. Liam had woken it up when it was getting rest and the Bodel need some for sleepless days.

While it was swiping its arm, it hit Liam. Julius saw that and yelled for help while dragging Liam. The Bodel, now awake for its hibernation, began chasing after them.

“Help us! There’s a creature chasing us, help us!” Julius was on the verge of crying.

Just then, another portal appeared. It was in the center of the community, where the celebration was held. All the parents came and saw Liam unconscious. Their sense of community was strong, and they had to beat the Bodel.

Trying to avenge Liam, the parents started to hit the Bodel. While they had a good reason, to avenge Liam for the greater good, the Bodel didn’t have a good one. After being hit a couple of times, the Bodel went back to its burrow. The community returned to the community center, but the celebration ended. Liam was hurt.

The community came together and drove him to the nearest hospital where Liam recovered.

“What happened?” Liam woke up. Everyone was elated when they found out Liam was still alive.
​
Liam’s parents explained everything that had happened to Liam.
Liam learned two important lessons that day. First, don’t go into random portals. Second, the community is stronger than power.

Brendon Wang is a fifth-grader at Medina Elementary.​