Object Writing

This is probably my best creative writing, which isn't saying much.

Henry was exploring at his grandfather’s house. He loved going there because the house held so many secrets and there were so many places to explore. His grandfather didn’t approve of Henry’s snooping around but that just made Henry enjoy it even more, because it added to the thrill of the search ducking in and out of rooms trying not to make a sound. Henry thought he was so sneaky, walking through the halls and avoiding his grandfather. He went down the main hall, clinging to the cold and dusty wall that had an old wallpaper that was yellow from its long life on the walls, barely making a noise. He had been down the halls numerous times before and was doubtful he would find anything new, but he kept his eyes on the lookout in case he saw something that he hadn’t before. Suddenly, Henry heard something in the distance. The noise sounded like his grandfather, slowly ascending the staircase. Henry froze, and then quietly slipped into one of the rooms, carefully closing the door as to make sure not a sound escaped. He left the door cracked so he could watch the hall and make sure his grandfather did not come into the room. He caught sight of his grandfather, and Henry thought that he was looking straight at him; Henry quickly stepped back, hoping he hadn’t been seen. He looked around the room for somewhere to hide, in the dreadful event that his grandfather came into the room. There was hardly anywhere he could hide. The room consisted of bookcases with old, strange books lining the walls and an old map hanging on the far side of the room, depicting what appeared to be the West Pacific. Henry had been in this room before, but he hadn’t been able to make sense of the map. The map had arrows and symbols dotting it but no key to explain what it all meant. Henry could hear grandfather pacing the hall, getting closer to the room where Henry was hidden and Henry desperately looked for somewhere he could find sanctuary.

Henry then noticed a tile on the ceiling different than the others surrounding it; he saw a string hanging from it and realized what it was: an attic. He pulled the string and the trapdoor swung open, unfolding a ladder. He tested the balance and then stealthily climbed up, pulling the trapdoor behind him. The trapdoor slid easily into place before it slammed shut, louder than Henry had wanted it to. He just hoped that his grandfather hadn’t heard it. His heart was pumping furiously from the narrow escape as he tried to calm his breathe, the thrill of the chase sent adrenaline through his system making it harder to keep quiet. His body screamed for air but Henry would not allow himself to breathe deeply, if his grandfather heard it he would regret it. Henry then looked around the attic for the first time and was taken aback, it was filled with boxes, most of them open revealing old documents and shiny medals. Old flags and maps lined the walls, and old chests which Henry was sure treasure would be in.

What drew Henry’s attention the most was a simple glass case, which held a beautiful sword. The sword was long and curved, delicately carved and it had a shine that Henry thought was not possible in a sword. As beautiful as it was, Henry could tell that it was old, likely many times older than he was. Henry was entranced by the sword, and wanted to get a closer look. He began to look for a way to open the case. His hands fumbled around until he felt a handle, and pulled.
“Darn,” Henry said with a sigh. The glass case was of course locked. The key hole was shaped in such a way that Henry would know the key if he saw it. He began to search the room for the key, rummaging through the old chests and boxes, careful to keep the objects in the same spots and not break anything so his grandfather would not be aware of his search. Suddenly he heard the trapdoor swing open and Henry heard the ladder squeak as his grandfather climbed up. Henry searched for somewhere he could hide, he saw a window in the far corner that he could jump out of but he decided it wasn’t worth it. He turned to face his grandfather, expecting the worst.

“What do you think you’re doing here,” snapped his grandfather, “don’t you know you shouldn’t be snooping around my things?”

“I’m sorry grandpa, I didn’t mean any harm,” mumbled Henry, his eyes downcast. His grandfather’s eyes were mixed, they looked angry for Henry’s disobedience, but they also looked gentle, because the kid was only being curious.
“That’s alright, Henry,” said his grandfather after some time, “I suppose you’re wondering where that sword is from.”

“Yes, why is it here?” Henry asked, “and why have I never seen it before?”

“That sword is from a war, quite some time ago, and it was gift. Would you like to see it?” his grandfather asked rather unexpectedly.
“Yes, I would like that very much so!” Henry exclaimed with delight. His eyes shot up from the ground and they began to shine with excitement as his grandfather moved towards the glass case. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large ring of keys. Henry wondered what other secrets these keys could unlock, but for now he was content with seeing the sword. His grandfather chose a key and inserted into the lock, turning it slowly. The lock clicked, and the little door opened. His grandfather pulled out the sword, being extremely careful with it and avoiding touching anywhere on the sword he did not need to.

“Well then,” his grandfather said, “I suppose I should tell you more about this sword. For one, this type of sword is called a wakizashi. It was given to me by a friend, after the war some time ago. It’s called Ryukento, meaning the sword of the fist of the dragon.” “It was hand crafted and is worth more than you can imagine. This sword brings back many memories,” his grandfather said, and Henry thought he could see his eyes tearing up, “if you would like to hear it, let’s head downstairs where I can sit in a chair, my old body isn’t what it used to be.
“Alright,” Henry said curiously, “lead the way.” They carefully climbed down the ladder and swung the trapdoor back into place. They went out of the room, his grandfather closing the door securely behind them, headed down the familiar hall, down the stairs and into the cozy living room. Henry’s grandfather sat down slowly into his rocker, and Henry plopped down onto the couch. His grandfather cleared his throat.

“Ryukento was given to me the day I was promoted to captain of my squad. The sword was more of a decorative touch, and I never used it in battle. The man who gave it to me, my superior officer, was a great man, but also a confused man. One day when we were setting up a camp, and creating barriers and buffers so the enemy would have a harder time attacking us, I was called to my officer’s office by a new recruit, who looked like he was unsure if he really wanted to be there. He scurried off and I headed down to the tent. I was unsure of what to do when I got there, because there was no place to knock but I knew it was disrespectful just to walk in. I decided to wait outside until my officer came out and gestured me to come inside.

“Hello, Captain Jim,” he said, “this is General Locke.” I quickly saluted General Locke and my officer.

“General Locke, sir,” I said, trying to stay perfectly still.

“At ease captain,” The general said, gesturing to a chair adjacent to him and nodding to my officer, who left the room. I lowered my arm and sat down, waiting for the general to speak.

“The reason I’m calling you to my office is because I have a special task for you, we just received intel that there is a spy base operating not more than 5 klicks from this base, and we want you and your team to go in, stop their base of operations, and destroy any intel they may have on us,” The general said, “Your officer will brief you.”

“Yes, sir,” I said as I left the tent.

“Jim,” my officer said, “you leave tomorrow. Your entire squad will come unless you feel like someone should stay behind, and this will be very dangerous so if you feel like you would rather not head this mission, I can find someone else to do it.”

“Thank you sir, but I am ready to do this,” I said.

“Very well, here are your papers,” my officer said with a nod as he handed me the packet, “good luck.”

“Thank you sir,” I said. I went back to my tent thinking about the mission ahead of me. I looked over the packet and then drifted off to sleep. I woke up to the trumpet call, early in the morning, and I gathered my squad together. We ate a quick breakfast then started getting prepared for the mission. We put on our camouflage gear and strapped guns on our backs. I put my sword on my belt and my squad said their goodbyes, then we headed out. After the long trek through the rugged terrain, marshy jungles with insects annoying us the whole way, I stopped my group hardly a klick away from the location of the spy camp. We ate a quick meal then snuck into the woods, our mission would have to be stealthy and hopefully end with the enemy unaware of what had happened. I heard the noise of a jeep in the distance and directed my squad to take cover. The jeep stopped near us and I was afraid we had been spotted, but only two of the men stepped out of the car, and started walking in the opposite direction of my squad. The jeep drove off and we followed the two men, stalking them quietly like a predator its prey.

“Sir, I think we can take out these men without anyone else noticing, shall we take them out?” whispered Private John. I contemplated it, even being in the military I disliked the idea of killing but I put that aside for the mission.

“Yes, take your shots carefully,” I replied. Private John and Sergeant Ryan screwed on their silencers onto their guns then carefully took their shots. They squeezed the triggers and the two men dropped. We quickly moved up and pulled the men into discrete locations then we moved on. I could see the enemy compound in the distance; they were hiding in an old warehouse. Our intel told us that we were best to head in a side entrance. We went in, scanning the area for cameras or traps that might give us away. Our squad split up, I went down a side corridor. I was looking for anything that could give us an edge on the enemy. While walking down the hall I walked straight into a young man. I pointed my gun at him and he started crying on the ground.

“Please, don’t shoot me,” he said. I was conflicted, this man was very young, hardly eighteen, but I was concerned for the mission. I eased my gun and the young man took the opportunity to run straight into me, knocking the gun out of my hand. My gun rolled across the hall, out of reach but I quickly brought the young man to the ground. I pulled my sword out and the young man’s eyes grew wide with fear. This time I was not merciful, and I plunged it into his chest. There was a lot of blood and after I sheathed my sword and retrieved my gun I quickly left the scene…

Henry looked at his grandfather, the story obviously pained him, and then the phone rang. His grandfather picked it up and after a short conversation said, “Henry it seems like it’s time for you to go home, your mom is home now.”

“Aww, can’t we finish the story?” I asked.

“No, maybe another day, but let’s take you home,” he said. We hopped in my grandfather’s car and we went back to my house. Greeted by my mother I soon forgot all about the story.