Bryan's World

Four corners stand tall and proud, the castle gates are daunting as the knight’s noble steed paces the moat. Breathes of steam course from the nostrils of the strong, pale beast as the man’s dented metal shines in the moonlight. The damsel waits at the top of the tall tower, he can hear her cries as she beckons him. The evil king glares down from the parapets and the knight returns the icy gaze. The fires burn around them, the turmoil, and corpses of fallen soldiers are endless amongst the battlefields.

“Come and fight like a man, Gonzaldorf!” the Brave Sir Knight Bryan shouts. He wields his sword, lightning surging through the blade, as he bangs it against his chest plate. The Evil King only sneers and holds out his hand as the drawbridge begins to lower. Bryan’s eyes slim, his lips curling into a smirk as he steadies his trusty mount. The chains clank and screech as the final battle inches closer. He can taste the victory on his sweat beaded lips. The bridge comes down with a loud thud against the dirt, the knight kicks his heels and flicks the reins. Ya!

“BRYANNN? Lunch is ready,” Mom called.

I looked up, balancing on a couch cushion, peering through the aluminum foils wrapped around my head.

“But mommmmm! I’m about to storm the castle gates!” I cried. The shoestrings flopped in my lap, my wood sword drooped into the shag carpet and my cardboard armor bent under the weight of my exasperated slouch.

“You can go back to playing after you eat, now hurry up now. It’s getting cold.”

Playing, I scoffed as my eyes did backflips inside my head. If only it was as simple as that. She didn’t know that it was the final conquest, the victorious end to a bloody and brutal battle, Sir Bryan’s last stand against the despicable and horrendous tyranny of King Gonzaldorf. She thought it was only a game, but it wasn’t. It was life and death! I pulled my makeshift helm from the top of my head, feeling the coolness in the air as it painted my dimples. My stomach growled. Perhaps, the King could wait. I toppled off my horse and raced through the hallway, my high tops slapping against the wood floor.

I parked my butt at the table. The aroma of grilled cheese and tomato soup tickled my nostrils and made my mouth water. It smelled delicious and my stomach rumbled even louder. I was starving. As I huddled over my plate, I shoveled the sandwich into my mouth, chewing as fast as I could and washing it down with the soup. My mind racing a million miles a minute as I planned my next escape.

“Storming the castle?” Mom asked, smiling from ear to ear behind a glass of sweet tea.

“Ahh, that’s old hat,” I said, through bites. My cheeks bulging like a chipmunk that had weaseled away its winter stores. She raised an eyebrow, combing her hair behind her ear as she cocked her head and pursed her lips. “We’re going to go up in space!” I swallowed and grabbed my dishes, taking them to the sink and grabbing a sponge.

“We?”

“The Captain and the Crew,” I said, briskly. I rinsed my plate and cup and put them in the strainer. “Love ya mom. I may never see you again, but don’t forget me. Wish us good luck!” I pecked her on the cheek.

“Godspeed,” She said, saluting me as I bolted down the hall, back to my fortress of solitude.

I could see my solace, planted in the middle of the living room floor. Its brown folds, becoming worn and weak, no matter how much tape I used to bandage its wounds. It was the absolute best gift that I could have possibly dreamed of and I could recall the day that it showed up on our doorstep. It towered over the stoop, leaving a long, haunting shadow across our door. It was wrapped in brown paper and on the top, there rested a large, red bow. It was a poinsettia with a million petals, and it screamed. It begged for everyone to look and everyone to open it and look inside. I pondered what it could be, touching it with a toe and leaping back as if it were going to explode. I knew it had to be evil, it was too suspicious not to be.

It was heavy, but it had to be mine. Who else would be getting a present? Shortly, I could hear dad hollering from the garage.

“Boy, get away from there!”

He emerged from his cave, wiping grease from his forehead with an even dirtier hand. His skin speckled with pink spots from where he had managed to rub the beater’s grime off. Pops mirrored a grizzly bear, even in his clad, holey overalls, as he meandered over from the garage door. He smiled at the suspicious brown paper package, his teeth seeming whiter than ever before. He was simply beaming.

“It’s here, ma! It’s here. The boys are gonna be mighty jealous!” Dad hooted. He slapped a mighty paw upon my head and rustled my hair. My mom quickly came to his call and shrieked. I didn’t quite get why they were so excited as I looked about the wrapping. He delved into it, tossing the bow to the side and the paper into little balls. He flicked his knife and cut it open, right there on the step he dismantled the package and pulled out its guts. The contents were bones of a red steel dragon, the metal jaws viciously chomped as my dad spun a mechanism with his thumb.

“Gonna have the best yard in the neighborhood!” They cheered, laughing, and coddling their new monster, but I had other plans. I needed to know what was inside the chasm that sat on our porch. The brown box summoned me, deep in my soul. I, then, knew that it wasn’t malicious intent at all, but instead, a portal. True magic was gushing from the flaps and it was calling me, ushering me to go forth and never look back to the boring, everyday life I once knew…

Back in the living room and back in my box, I laid on the floor. My breath curt in the dark as I began to stick portly fingers against the cardboard walls. I moved a sash across my chest and lap, harnessing into the ground. I flicked the many toggles and switches and placed the headset over my ears. I cupped my hand against my face and checked the signal. The lights turned on and freckled the ship with technicolor stars. I ensured my crew was secure, signaling with a black gloved thumb that we were ready to go.

5…4…3…2…1, Liftoff!

The voice boomed through the intercom and into their ears. Captain Bryan T Kirk sat at the helm of the ship, the throttle pushing them back deep into their chairs. Noise, nothing but noise, flooded the cabin of the shuttle. It was as if they were in the depth of the volcano, the light swallowing them whole, pressure weighted them down, pulling their skin taut, and then…there was nothing. Only pure tranquility. A calm, quiet stillness engulfed them. Serenity was all around the ship as stars twinkled.

“Atlas X to Mission Control, Mission Control. Do you read me?” The Captain radioed.

“Loud and Clear, Atlas X, status report? Over.”

“Condition is stable. Puffy Head Bird Legs. We are in MECO, over.” Captain Bryan spoke into his comm.

“Roger that, Atlas X.”

Bryan smiled. Space was magnificent! In all his years of exploration, he had always been astonished when exiting Earth’s orbit. The reflection from the sun, the gases that lit the air like glowing embers, and the millions of stars, the millions of possibilities. Earth’s future gleamed all around them for light years. He turned off the mic and began to unlock his harness.

Suddenly an alarm raised.

WAH, WAH, WAH

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw in the windshield a massive crater, approaching the ship. There was nothing, he could do.

“Brace for impact!” He barked. Immediately, the shuttle spiraled. The ship was completely out of control. His fingers clawed into the armrests as they spun and shook. Every alarm buzzed and beeped. The emergency light flashing as the crew screamed behind him.

“Captain! Captain! What do we do?”

He ground his teeth, his eyes clenched, and his mind once again raced with thoughts. His stomach churned as his head felt like it filled with water. His eyes could not stop rolling. He was going to blow chunks and he felt helpless. His crew was terrified, they needed their captain. Think, think!

“Captain, we’re gonna crash!”

He opened his eyes, he tried to reach out for communication, but he couldn’t steady his hand.

“Going downnnnn”

Light broke through the flaps of the box and I shielded my eyes. My mother’s silhouette stood above me.

“Everything okay?” She asked.

I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest, almost bursting through my skin like I was going to explode. I tried to catch my breath, searching the room. I was home, I was here! There was my shuttle- my box, my special place, and I wasn’t in a million pieces in a fiery pit of rubble and there was my mother.

“Yeah, everyrthing’s fine.” I panted.

Her smile glimmered. It was always reassuring, so loving and so safe. I was happy to be home, but I was even happier knowing my box was safe and that I was already planning my next adventure…