Suddenly, I had an idea. It was a long shot and probably wouldn’t work, but it was my only hope.
“Bobby!” I shouted.
The techie looked up at him.
“Jelly-gun.”
“Jelly-gun?” Bobby looked confused.
“Jelly-gun, now!”
“Now?”
I glared at him. “NOW!”
Bobby smiled, then pulled the converted paintball gun off his shoulder and pointed it at the demon.
“Aim for the eyes,” I shouted.
Bobby nodded, then opened fire, shouting with joy, “JELLYYYYYY GUNNNNNNN!”
Plastic jelly packets flew through the air, striking the demon’s chest at first, but slowly climbed up his body as Bobby adjusted his aim. Many of them struck me, but I didn’t care. Grabbing Malphas’s beak, I yanked it toward the stream of strawberry and grape, the packets splatting against the demon’s face and mouth. Finally, an orange marmalade packet hit an eye, the goopy topping covering it completely. Boysenberry and blueberry landed next, completely blotting out the glowing red light.
“Keep it up!” I shouted.
As Bobby fired his Jelly-gun, I gripped the monster’s neck with one hand. With the other, I pulled a static-shocker from my pocket. Flipping on the power switch, I held the weapon up to my eyes and smiled as sparks danced across the two sharp barbs sticking out of the end.
“Taste my magic, Malphas.”
I jammed the prongs into Malphas’s back. The sharp points easily passed through layers of feathers and found soft flesh. Sparks danced across the demon like silvery spiders, their electric bite bringing painful convulsions. The electricity stabbed at me as well, but something under my shirt protected me from most of the current.
The Demon Lord’s wings faltered momentarily, struggling to keep flapping, then slowly failed. Malphas shuddered and succumbed to gravity’s touch; we fell.
With a thud, we hit the ground hard, landing right next to the flickering circle of light surrounding the cave. Malphas’s head slammed onto a stone, and he lay there, dazed for a moment. The light trying to leak through the grape and strawberry jelly faded. His eyes closed for a second, and it was long enough for the demon to lose control of his minions.
A gremlin charged straight at us, leaped over me, and ran into the cave entrance. The usual, glowing red eyes looked coal-black, Malphas’s enslaving magic now gone, and the demon was too dazed to reestablish his control.
The students fell upon the monster army, hitting and kicking them until they turned and fled, racing back into the cave for safety. It quickly became an all-out retreat, the gremlins, ogres, goblins, banshees, and imps stepping over each other to get back to Agartha, finally free from Malphas’s control. None of them wanted to fight their oppressor’s war any longer.
I stood, picked up the static-shocker, and stabbed it into the demon again. The last bit of electricity flowed from its battery, then died, the indicator light on the side of the weapon going dark. Pulling my lightning-rope from my belt, I stepped into the glowing circle of light and flung it at the monster, electrocuting the demon again.
Suddenly, Mrs. Chakoté was at my side, pulling me back. “You must stay out of the illuminated circle.” She yanked on my arm, but my rage stayed focused on the Demon Lord. I flung the rope at Malphas again and again, the weapon’s charge quickly diminishing.
“Cameron.” She grabbed my arm and yanked it hard. “Listen to me. If you’re in the circle when the doorway collapses, you’ll be pulled into the Void, a place of darkness where you’ll never age and exist in a terrible nothingness . . . f o r e v e r.”
The drawn-out word captured my attention. I glanced at Mrs. Chakoté and then turned my attention to Malphas. The old woman grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the demon, who still writhed in pain.
Malphas slowly crawled toward the cave entrance, trying to escape.
“No. We can’t let Malphas go back to Agartha.” I glared at Chakoté. “He’ll just put them under his control again, and we’ll have to face him on the next Super Blood Moon.” I stepped forward and dragged the demon away from the cave and toward the edge of the glistening circle. “Help me. Someone help me!”
In a heartbeat, Karl and Leonard stood at my side, but before they could help, Malphas lunged, slashing at my chest with long, dark claws. The talons ripped through my shirt, revealing wide slashes of red underneath. I fell backward, slices of crimson across my chest.
“Cameron . . . no!” Elisa ran to me and knelt at my side. She looked at Mrs. Chakoté. “Help him! The demon cut open his chest. He’s gonna die!”
But before anyone could take a step, I sat up and patted my chest, a jingling sound filling the air. “Chainmail . . . painted red with my rubber paint.” I gave a short laugh. “It kept me from being electrocuted up there.” I pointed to the sky.
Turning to Elisa, I smiled, then stood and bolted toward Malphas. Grabbing the demon again, I pulled on the monster’s clawed hand. With all my strength, I dragged the creature back toward the circle’s edge. Malphas dug his three-toed bird feet into the weed-covered ground and pushed back, keeping me within the ring of light. Karl put his arms around my waist and pulled. At the same time, Leonard wrapped the lightning-rope around the creature’s leg and yanked hard, pulling the claws loose from the soil.
Malphas screamed in rage and wiped the jelly from his eyes, then glared at me, the pitiless orbs starting to glow.
I felt transfixed and couldn’t look away. My will to resist crumbled as the Demon Lord’s voice echoed in my head, taking control of my mind. I started to release my grip on the monster’s arm when—
“JELLYYYYY GUNNNNNN!” Bobby leaped to my side and fired a stream of sticky, sweet packets of grape jelly onto the monster’s face, coating the eyes with another thick layer of goo.
The demon tried to wipe it away, but Bobby kept firing, his weapon holding the monster’s magic at bay. Together, we dragged Malphas closer to the edge until just his black, clawed hand stuck out of the circle, the rest of the kids safely out of the sparkling illumination.
“The Super Blood Moon,” Elisa pointed to the sky.
The last sliver of blood-red craters faded from view as the rest of the Earth’s shadow moved across the moon, plunging them into darkness.
The light around the cave flickered as if someone were playing with a light switch. Then, one by one, the Skull Keys fell from the entrance and landed on the ground with a thud, each growing dark. Finally, the last one, the green Skull of Life, came free and plummeted into the weeds. Instantly, the sparkling field of light contracted like water going down a drain, and with it, Malphas, the Demon Lord of Agartha. The vortex dragged the terrible monster toward the cave as everything grew darker and darker and darker until . . .
The moon overhead finally slipped past the Earth’s shadow, showing its silver face once more. The kids cheered and pointed to the lunar body. But when they looked back at the cave, they found the demon gone. Only Malphas’s clawed fist remained in my hand, its skin now turned to stone. Slowly, the severed hand shrunk smaller and smaller until it became the size of a small candy bar. I quickly dropped it and checked my own hand, making sure my fingers were still made of flesh.
“We did it!” Bobby shouted. “Jelly-gun to the rescue!”
Other kids shouted with him, “Jelly-gun . . . Jelly-gun . . . Jelly-gun!”
Students from different teams and competing cliques hugged each other. Athletes gave high-fives to techies, dancers embraced wrestlers; a celebration of joy and equality enveloped them all as the kids of Camp Pontchartrain cheered.
A wrinkled hand settled on my shoulder. I turned and found Mrs. Chakoté smiling down at me. Karl and Leonard approached, as did Elisa, while Bobby was already at my side.
“I knew the five of you could see us past this challenge. The magic in the Earth brought all of you together when you were needed most.” Chakoté said. She smiled at each of them. “You’ve all accomplished great things, but more importantly, you’ve learned things about yourselves and will never be as you were before.”
“Good,” Karl said. He put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s good to have friends, finally.”
I nodded.
“And I’m done pleasing everyone else and doing what they want.” Leonard removed his football pads and tossed them to the ground. “It’s time I followed my passion.” He glanced at Mrs. Chakoté. “When school starts in the Fall, I’m gonna do football and history; maybe I’ll join the History Club.” Leonard smiled, his eyes filled with joy, as they should be.
The old woman nodded.
Elisa stepped forward, moved to my side, and hugged me. “You helped me remember something important.” She stepped back.
“What’s that?”
“I’d forgotten how to enjoy what I do. I was always afraid of missing a shot and disappointing someone or letting my teammates down. I forgot about me.” Elisa glanced at the other four members of their party. “We can’t forget to enjoy the moment.”
“What about you, Bobby?” Mrs. Chakoté asked. “What did you learn?”
“Well, I learned something very important that all of you learned as well.” He gave them a mischievous smile as he held his invention over his head. “Jelly-gun is awesome!” Bobby laughed a loud belly laugh, unafraid of embarrassment, as always.
At that moment, I realized Bobby was and had always been totally free and just lived in each moment as if it were his last. I envied my friend.
“Wait, where’s Rylee?” Elisa glanced about, looking for the tiny imp.
“He went back to Agartha,” Bobby said. “When Malphas lost his power over the monsters, I saw the little imp go back through the gateway. Maybe he’ll try to make Agartha a better place. With his newfound courage, I doubt anyone is gonna mess with him.” Bobby pulled a bag of Reese’s Pieces out of a pocket and looked at them, then put them back. “I’ll save those for him in case he comes here again someday.”
Elisa nodded. “Rylee was a good friend. He’ll be an even better leader.”
“Cameron.” Mrs. Chakoté tapped her cane on the ground, the stones now dark. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, I’m tired of worrying about what might happen and letting fear rule my life.” I shook my head, then ran my fingers through my curly hair. “I know the ANTs, the automatic negative thoughts, and the what-ifs aren’t real. I realize now when the anxiety comes, it won’t last forever. It’s temporary, and it’s all a lie. But I know I’m not cured . . . I doubt I’ll ever be cured of anxiety. But I’m starting to understand how to cope with it so it won’t rule my life. As long as I have my friends to support me, I can get past the anxiety and hopefully do things any other kids can do.” I glanced at my friends and smiled. “I won’t worry about failing anymore. Instead, I’m looking for the positive and focusing on success.”
“My favorite president said, ‘We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses,’” Leonard said.
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“Let me guess, Abraham Lincoln?” Karl raised a curious eyebrow.
Leonard nodded and smiled. “Yep.”
Just then, the sound of helicopters filled the air as about a dozen aircraft approached the camp. As they neared, I saw the image of seven circles, each a different color, emblazoned on the side of each chopper.
“Looks like the Order of the Stones finally made it.” Elisa put her bow over her shoulder and laughed. “Great timing.”
The other kids laughed but grew quiet as Chakoté raised her hands and shook her head. “No, you’re wrong.”
“What do you mean?” I gazed at the old woman, confused.
She pointed her cane at us five, then turned and pointed it at all the kids on the battlefield, many of them moving closer, listening.
The aircraft landed on the field, and heavily armed soldiers jumped out, each with a Chakra pendant hanging around their neck.
“We didn’t need the Order of the Stones and their guns and helicopters because the Order was already here.” She slammed the tip of her cane on the ground, the stones giving off a bright flash. “You . . . all of you,” she cast her gaze across the students, then settled it on my friends and me. “You’re the new Order of the Stones.”
“Yeah!” Bobby shouted, the rest of the kids cheering with him.
I raised my fist into the air, then brought it to my chest. THUMP—THUMP, raise, THUMP—THUMP, raise, THUMP—THUMP, raise, the rest of the students joining in. The sound echoed across the school grounds while the soldiers looked about, confused.
As the students celebrated, I listened to the inner recesses of my mind, and for the first time, the faint buzzing that always seemed to be there, waiting, was strangely absent. I was free . . . for now. Bending down, I gathered up Malphas’s petrified hand, shoved it into a pocket, and headed toward the shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
“Cameron, where are you going?” Elisa asked.
“There’s something I need to do.”
“What is it?” Elisa started to follow me, many of the other kids doing the same.
Questions were lobbed at me, but I remained silent as I marched toward the lake. More kids followed, curiosity making them like mice enchanted by the Pied Piper’s flute.
I walked up to the ropes course and turned around, facing my fellow campers. “This course has been a source of anxiety and fear for me all summer, but no more.”
“You don’t have to do this, Cameron,” Elisa said.
“Yeah, Cam,” Leonard added. “You have nothing to prove to anyone.”
“Yes, you do.” Karl moved to my side. “To yourself, right?”
I nodded, reached up, and grabbed the rungs of the rope ladder. A buzzing started to form in my head, but I ignored it, the lie unable to still my courage.
“Let’s do this thing.” And I climbed, the cheers of the kids below wrapping me in a blanket of courage.
“Fear can’t stop me. I won’t allow it,” I shouted as I climbed higher and higher, laughter bubbling up deep from within my soul and exploding outward, filling everyone with joy.
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I hope enjoyed Facing the Beast Within. If you did, it would be a great help to me to tell your friends. The lifeblood of a book is word of mouth and reviews. It would help me a lot if you left an honest review online so others will know what you thought about the story. Please leave a review online and tell everyone about Cameron’s adventure.
Thank you so much for your support.
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Have an idea for your own story? Write it out and send it to me. Thousands of young writers have sent their stories, some about Minecraft and some about totally different topics. I’ve posted them all to my website, here: https://markcheverton.com/fanfic-art/. I’ll put your story on my website and send you a link so you can find it but ask your parents first. Parents – this is a kid-safe place where bullying or disrespectful comments will never be tolerated.
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The next book in the Order of the Stones series is called Cameron and the Shadow-wraiths. It should be out near the end of 2024. Time for the monsters of Agartha to get a little payback. I hope you enjoy it.
Here’s an excerpt . . . I hope you like it.