Short Story Excerpt: The Hero's Journey - Ch1

Overview: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/short-story-the-hero-s-journey-the-others-pt-2

Previous: https://kaylinrosealexande.wixsite.com/kaylinalexanderbooks/post/short-story-excerpt-the-others-scenes-16-18

As explained in my overview post, in my senior year of high school, I took a creative writing class in which I had to write a short story that followed the hero's journey beat-by-beat. I decided to adapt The Others script I'd written as a freshman.

As a result, I had to mark off where each beat of the hero's journey was, so that's what I'll be doing here.

Enjoy!

Chapter One: The Ordinary World

Jason collapsed behind the brick wall, panting and drenched in sweat, the adrenaline pumping throughout his body being the only thing keeping him from crumpling onto the grass where he sat. The brick wall was some sort of sign, Jason figured. It had the electronic screen above it that used to display words, listing events that were going on in the building, most likely. Of course, it didn’t work anymore. Ever since the Others arrived years before Jason was even born, there’d been no one to operate it, or the building, which Jason knew was originally a Catholic church, based off the faded letters on the brick portion of the sign. The intel they had received had said the Others would be inside the church at this time, but while Jason was on his way to confirm the explosion, enjoying the excuse for a midnight stroll in the process, he had been ambushed by a herd of Others, who had camped out at an old fast-food place.

“Astrid,” he said as he tapped the comm in his ear.

“Yes, Jason?” his team’s resident technophile replied.

“Are those explosives ready to go off?”

“Yes, they are,” Astrid replied. “But they’re inside the church, Jason, and the Others are out in the yard.”

Jason looked ahead at the holy building in front of him. “Copy. Grayson out.”

“Jas—” Jason turned off his comm and launched himself to his feet, spinning around to face the street.

“Hey!” He yelled at the Others. In a synchronized motion Jason was accustomed to seeing now, the army that had been chasing him turned their heads shaved heads to see him. “I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts! There they are a’standing in a row!” Jason began sprinting toward the church, and he heard the group of extra-dimensional terrorists following him.

“Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head!” Jason kicked the door to the church down—it was pretty shabby to begin with—and entered the vestibule. The smell of dust that had been sitting for decades hit Jason like a sonic blast. “Give ‘em a twist, a flick o’ the wrist!” On cue, Jason flicked aside his weapon that had been out of ammunition ages ago to the side, hearing it clatter violently with the hard, cold floor. The noise echoed, and Jason knew that the Others would follow. “That’s what the showman said!” Jason hollered, allowing Merv Griffin and Freddy Martin’s lyrics to echo louder than his weapon did.

Jason burst through another door, finding himself in the nave, continuing onto the next part of the chorus. He was out of breath now, running and singing at the same time, but he wasn’t about to stop now. He practically skipped toward the sanctuary tapping on the pews as he passed by in rhythm.

“Singing, ‘roll-up, bowl a ball, a penny a pitch!’” Jason announced as he leaped over the railing into the sanctuary. He looked up at the choir loft, noting the stained glass windows behind it. Jason smirked in the middle of the bridge, whirling around as the doors burst open, the army of Others filing in. Jason quickly began to climb up to the choir loft, grabbing onto ledges of objects that happened to be on or against the wall. Jason scampered onto the arms of the crucifix and leaped onto the ledge of the choir loft, pulling himself over and standing to face the Others.

“Astrid, I’m back, how much longer until they blow?” Jason stopped singing for a moment to tap his comm.

“About fifteen seconds, Jason, get out of there!” she demanded.

Jason shut off his comm, looking down at the Others. “Hey! Stiffs!” Jumping back into singing, he cried, “They’re lovely! There they are a’standing in a row!”

Jason looked back at the stained window of Jesus Christ. “I’m sorry we have to destroy this place, but hopefully you’ll forgive us.” He turned back to the Others. “One! Two! Three! Four!”

An explosion echoed through the halls of the church. “Big ones, small ones, some as big as your—” Jason ducked his head and leaped through the window, feeling the glass cut at his skin as he fell toward the ground, hearing the boom of the explosion rattle off his eardrum.

Jason grunted as he landed on a bush, tumbling rapidly through the grass. Lying on his back once he stopped moving, he rolled his head to the left, toward the church. The building was on fire.

After he realized he was indeed still alive, Jason started laughing. He gazed up into the dark, starry heavens above him. “Thanks,” he murmured and passed out.

Already, this is a much better introduction to the world Jason lives in, and he already has such a good, charismatic personality. I love him, and I'm super proud of what I wrote.

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