Dreaming of Lumos

[Apollo]

Apollo had led the beast inside of a small room, pressing a lever that caused a stone slab door to close on the bear, trapping its head on the other side of a door. Inside the room and to the right of the door lay an old shield. Apollo picked it up and used both hands to thrust the bottom edge at the bear’s snout. The animal wailed and growled. He hit the beast again and again, as hard as he could. The bear’s face turned bloody. It attempted to jerk backward, but it was hopeless with its head stuck in the space of the door... In a panic to escape the blows, the bear withdrew the paw that had clutched the edge of the door, stopping it from closing further on it. With its removal, the stone slab of resumed its left-to-right march, closing in, tightening the space on the bear's neck. The gap remained too small for the bear to pull its head out. Trapped, The Brown twisted and jerked violently, but the door continued to close, gripping the muscle that made up its neck.


Again Apollo bashed at the animal’s face in the not out of fear, but rage… a rage he had never known, anger that he didn’t understand. The bear had taken something very special from him, a friend, a comrade, he would always remember the giant who helped him overcome his fears, and made him the man who he was today. The bear wailed in desperation, fear, and anger. As the door slid, the bear’s roar became a whimper. Tighter and tighter the stone inched, squeezing the animal’s throat. The Brown jerked harshly, still struggling to wrench its head free. Then the beast succumbed to panic. Ignoring all pain, it bucked and twitched, shrieking in such terror that Apollo took a few steps back, so that he could look at the beast expression, so that he could stare into those pleading eyes. Slowly, very slowly, the bear lost its strength. Apollo watched its face, its bloodied nostrils, and eyes, as The Brown grew silent and still.