The Avenger

Cameron fell in defeat. He was attempting to defeat the Trojan icon Jack in one on one battle. Unfortunately for Cameron, the battle was executed in the form of hurdles on top of the western cliffs. Cameron missed one step, and then found himself hurtling down past the shagged granite of the cliffs towards the rough ocean. It was a bitter, sore defeat for the Greeks. Cameron had been a top man for their army, and this was crushing. This war was starting to seem all for naught. Eli saw the whole thing while he was warming up for his upcoming Uno match. The battle roared on, but Eli stood by watching, zoned out. He had only one thing on his mind: Austin. "We need to find Austin if we are to secure this victory!"

Austin was enraged. He hadn't fought most of the war (which had been going on for nearly thirty years now) due to political reasons. However, Austin had an incentive to join the battle after hearing the news of his best friend, Cameron, perishing in battle. Cameron and Austin had grown up together and fought together. The passing of Cameron lit a fire somewhere in Austin. This is what the Greeks needed though--in truth, they had been struggling up until this point. But Austin's skills were legendary in the field of battle. Most people simply ran away as soon as they saw him. He had never lost, and didn't plan to anytime soon.

Jack stood behind the walls of Troy. He knew he should be happy; he had just taken out a general from the opposition's army. However, he was more concerned with who he might have riled up. Though Jack was the best soldier in the Trojan army, even he was terrified of facing Austin in single combat. But he knew that if he didn't do it, his city would surely fall. Upon seeing Austin in his trademark neon jumpsuit riding out to the dusty battlefield, Jack solemnly gathered his lucky socks and walked out to meet him.

As was tradition, Austin chased Jack around for the first thirty minutes of the fight. After thirty minutes, the two shook hands and got down to business. Both men pulled out their jump ropes and began to jump. Both armies were watching--things were tense. This was a match-up that both the Greeks and the Trojans had been anticipating for nearly thirty years. Both men worked meticulously with their rope as they hopped in rhythm: they knew that one mistake could mean their own demise and, more importantly, could mean the demise of their army. Jack could feel his heart beating in his throat as the pressure of the situation built up--and finally began to boil over. Men began throwing rocks and tomatoes at the combatants--another tradition to help ensure that the best man would win. Also, the crowd was starting to get bored and wanted to get more involved. Unperturbed, both heroes dialed in their focus in order to win this critical battle for their army. After going for three days straight, a record certainly, Jack tripped on a pebble and fell on his face. The Greeks celebrated and sang Queen songs, while Jack knew that his fate would not be pretty. Austin smiled to himself, feeling as though he had avenged his friend Cameron.

Jack had brought dishonor to his family and to the city of Troy. The fate he was about to suffer would not be a pretty one. This was not only a crushing blow to Jack's pride. It was a devastating blow to the Trojan army. This was a huge momentum swing, and a shot to the confidence of the Trojans as well. Trojan officials took the broken Jack deep within the walls of the city. Then, they took away his phone charger. They did not tell Jack when he would get it back, only that he should use his battery life wisely. "This is some kind of futuristic torture," Jack thought to himself as he twiddled his thumbs. He couldn't remember the last time that he was this isolated with only his own thoughts to keep him company. He mentally buckled up for the long road ahead.

Austin celebrated with his compatriots for the night, though he didn't want to allow the Greeks to get ahead of themselves--they may have won the battle, but the war wasn't over yet. Still, Austin couldn't help but feel that this was a turning point in the war. He smiled, despite himself, as he received a message on his computer screen that he had successfully purchased tickets to Disney World.

Bibliography: The Slaying of Hector (end) story from The Iliad retold by Alfred J Church

Author's note: I based my story off of the fight between Hector and Achilles from Homer's Iliad. In the original story, Achilles had not wanted to fight in the war due to disagreements with the king. However, it was well known that Achilles was the most powerful warrior probably between both armies. Hector was the stud for the Trojans. Achilles was riled up and wanted to avenge the death of his close friend Patroclus, who was killed by Hector. Upon their initial meeting for combat, Hector did run away from Achilles (I thought that was funny to picture)! After fighting for a bit, Achilles kills Hector.

In my story, I change the names of the characters, though I leave the same sides fighting. I make the war 30 years instead of 10 years. I think it's funny to think about the wives of all these dudes who have been at war for 10/30 years. They are probably so ticked off, and for good reason. Instead of using spears or swords for combat, I instead have the characters jump rope to the death. I also thought it would be fun to bring a modern twist to the story. I know this ending may seem more tragic than the original ;)I thought this would be a fun twist! I had fun writing this story, I hope everyone reading has enjoyed it. Thank you for your time! :)

For an editing challenge, I decided to embed a YouTube video into this page to be another element for my story. After going through it several times, I believe that if you read at a moderate pace, you might get to the climax of the story as the beat drops in the initial song. At this pace, I think you will also hear "We Are the Champions" during the scene where Austin wins the battle and the Greeks are singing together. If you choose to listen to this song as you read, I'd recommend keeping the volume relatively low because I found myself singing along in my head at some points instead of reading. Please enjoy :)

Achilles triumphant in battle by painter Franz Matsch .

source: commons